Where I Belong
by fishellya
Summary: Ase was a being born from two worlds, fated to be a runaway for her whole life. Her secret was her destruction, and her entire life she waited for someone whom she could truly trust. He came in an unexpected form, as an enemy of Earth and the Avengers. But as she came to know him, an inevitable bond grew between them. A bond of reliance, and love. (LokixOC) Avengers and Thor movies
1. Foreword

Hello there! I am BACK and still ALIVE (though not really well lol). School stuffs have been hindering my writing for enjoyment and thus I haven't been able to write nor read any fanfiction for a while. But I've decided to return to my old ways, because school is driving me crazy. Writing is one of the ways to prevent the worst crazy state possible in my life.

SO, this time I am offering you with an Avengers fanfiction titled Where I Belong. Not as much angst as my first fic, but still having a lot of angst. Why am I doing Avengers? Well, because I simply found a chance to write a fanfiction from this. Also, I am planning to divide it into parts according to the movies, which I will combine into one fiction since separating them into different ones seem painstaking. Many of the plots will revolve around Thor storylines, but I am including this under the Avengers category because as we all know, MCU revolves around that subject.

Also, since I am kind of lazy in creating new plot lines, I would probably follow the original story with again, slight changes. I base my knowledge on the MCU, so there won't be additional comic materials. And this fic might be published slowly due to hectic school schedules.

Enjoy!


	2. 0100: Initiative

**PART I: REMERGENCE**

 _"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail."_

 _Ralph Waldo Emerson_

oOo

 **2011, New York**

" _You are born from two worlds, unwanted and cursed. But, Ase, do not let such things shape your fate."_

 _"I knowm Elliot. I know."_

 _"Good, now wake up."_

Her dark roast coffee almost fell from the table when his words snapped her awake. Ase rocked her hands forward and caught the cup just in time to only let a drop spill to the floor. The white tile was marred with a single black drop, the colour discrepancy reminding her of the difference between dream and reality. She sighed, returning the cup to the table, and rubbed her temples.

 _That dream again._

She finished her morning coffee silently, though the drink should not be called as such for she had drunken it since last night. She needed extra boost of caffeine to stay awake, and despite the coffee being the strongest in the shop, it done her little to no deed. Her dozing off just now was a concrete proof that she required more than just a coffee. If possible, she would have taken more caffeine, but the barista had forbidden her from doing so.

Ase stared at her cup, now empty. It had done little to her strength, for her body was inhumane to begin with. But even with such physical capability, days of sleep deprivation had rendered her exhausted and weak. Her hands, which could have broken concrete easily, were now trembling on the verge of limping. Her senses, which could have identified any creature nearing her, were blunted. All her extraordinary capabilities were abated, concealed by a mask of exhaustion from all eyes finding her— _most_ of them.

She glanced at the stalkers who had been eyeing her from the corners of her eyes, pretending to sip from her empty cup. She caught more than one figure who had been staying in the care for as long as she had—and who had been tailing her for days. She rummaged her rucksack and took out her phone, raising it as high as her face such that its screen reflected off her followers. On the glassy surface she first saw a pale woman in her twenties with white blonde hair tied into a ponytail and a face with strong cheeks and bones. Days of not sleeping had taken toll on her, making the skin around her bronze eyes dark and dim. She wasn't surprised of her own appearance, because for years she had not taken heed of caring for her beauty—which was ordinary in her people's culture. Fifty years had not transformed her face, instead preserving it in its always cold visage. She wondered now why it took so long for these people to discover her with her unchanging features.

After a moment studying herself, she tilted her phone slightly to view the unwanted spies. A woman sat next to the window, garbed in complete stake out costume, with sunglasses and a scarf covering her identity. She thought she had not been noticed by Ase, and for that she was a fool. Ase had been travelling for too long to not notice unwanted eyes tailing her. Her experience al over the globe taught her to read people well, including those intending to sneak behind her. The woman, she remembered, had been following her from China. A second man, presumably with the woman, joined the pursuit in England. He was now reading a newspaper almost nonchalantly. The last one—a dark-skinned man with a single eye—joined the fray as she entered New York. He was making an order at the counter as casually as he could.

Ase sighed and put her phone down. It seemed whoever or whatever organisation was following her was persistent. Countless times she had tried to fly from their eyes, moving from Africa to Australia to Iraq in incomprehensible speed and effectiveness over the course of six months, but they had somehow managed to find her even to the darkest alleys. It hinted her that this group was very resourceful, and vexing. She was, in a sense, a patient person. But patience would eventually run out.

She had had enough.

With that sentence in mind, she slammed her cup on the table, alerting her pursuers of her decision, and picked up her bag from the floor. Rising from the seat, she paced out of the shop with incredible haste. Her weakened senses caught the stalkers rising up instantly, and she grunted. The sun blinded her eyes outside, but she paid no heed and instead turned to an alley nearby. She could hear her watchers' footsteps quickening behind, trying to follow her inhumane pace. The passers-by did not notice this heating pursuit.

The alley was, fortunately, empty. The tall buildings flanking it obscured the sunlight and creating a long lane of darkness. Ase quirked a derisive smile and continued to walk, until she reached the deepest part of the alley. As she halted, she whirled herself around and faced her opponents with confidence, and a sneer,

Five eyes looked back, observing calmly. Ase folded her arms together and stared back without hesitance.

"I am not fond of admirers," Ase started first, her voice cold as ice. Slowly her smile quirked into a scowl, her face darkening. Indeed, it was not a laughing matter, and whatever purpose they had with her better be worth of her time and energy. There was a long silence, the three merely observing her and her bag.

"You have been following me for months and yet you have nothing to say to me?" she said mockingly. "Have you no ethics? Or other importance, as a matter of fact? I have done nothing wrong, and you have, by following illegally someone innocent."

"You are not exactly innocent, as a matter of fact," the woman said. The single-eyed man summoned a hand, forcing the woman to stop whatever she intended to speak out.

"We were merely observing you, Miss Ase," the man reasoned. Ase clenched her hands when she heard her name being called by a stranger. None knew her new name other than herself, and Elliot.

"And I have been observing as well," Ase said, her eyes moving from the man to his subordinates. "Why are you following me? None has ever dared to follow my path, yet alone know my name. Several who tried had planned something else, and none ended their encounter with me well."

The man, understanding her indications, scoffed. "We are not going to hurt you, Miss Ase," the man explained. "We only want to talk with you."

"Many wanted more than just a conversation," she retorted, unzipping her backpack in series of invisible movements. Her hands pulled out three metallic rods, the colour of silver which flashed under the minute sunlight. Whatever they could do had been anticipated by her previous experiences. She connected the rods into a single, long staff, and flipped it in the air. An air of offence radiated from the weapon, and her three opponents became alerted immediately. She could see the other two reaching their guns, only to be stopped by the dark-skinned man.

"I told you, we are not hurting you," he tried to convince her.

"You are really not convincing, all of you," Ase said. "How could I trust you when all of you have guns?"

The man looked at his comrades and gave them a nod. Immediately they pulled away their guns, tearing apart their disguise and revealing a young woman and a middle-aged man. The single-eyed man stepped forward, his features now exposed in darkness. "My name is Nick Fury. This is Agent Hill and Agent Coulson. I think giving our names is enough to convince you?"

Ase slowly lowered her weapons. If these people were brave enough to reveal their names, their initials at the very least, then they had earned a little of her trust—for the time being. Fury particularly interested her, for he held superiority unlike any man she had encountered.

Coulson smiled when she disassembled her staff and returned the rods to her rucksack. "You need to trust us, Miss Ase. We have dealt with people like you for some time now," he said. Zipping her bag, Ase cast a doubtful look to the man. She nodded apprehensively.

"Good," Fury said emotionlessly. "Follow me then. A place like this often has eyes."

Hesitantly, though without lowering her guard, Ase followed the group and left the dark alley. Sunlight once more beamed at her as she tailed the man to a small, his two comrades lurking behind her. Entering the bar cautiously, she discovered an empty room with no one other than the bartender himself. The old man instantly acknowledged Fury's arrival and closed the door behind them.

"Please take a seat," Fury instructed to Ase as he slumped to a comfy sofa. Ase did not pull her eyes away from the humble bartender, shifting constantly to the bottle-filled cupboards and empty chairs.

"This place is not an ordinary bar," she deduced as the bartender served them glasses of water. Fury raised a brow. "And the bartender is not an ordinary man. He is trained in martial arts, perhaps kenjutsu. I bet he has a sword hidden behind the bottles or the cupboard."

The bartender chuckled, saying nothing but a sweet smile. Yet his hands did not betray his profession, marred with calluses and scars of the sword.

"You are correct," Fury praised her simply. "With such knowledge I believe you have been practising the art as well."

"I have, in many others too," Ase answered, unwilling to sip from her water. "You seem to know a lot about me, even though I have not much data to investigate for."

"Yes, but we are particularly cunning in the field of intelligence," Fury explained frankly. Coulson then handed him a folder, the typical brown paper filled with what Ase assumed her data. "We eventually managed to pull out several important information about you."

"Oh? And would you mind explain what it is and what is going on?"

"Firstly, I must thank you for being so cooperative," Fury continued as he opened the folder. She was not surprised to see her face embedded on the paper, along with a handful of information only enough for trivia games. "Not many are as obedient, particularly people with abilities like you. They always retaliate when they are apprehended."

"I have been docile not only because of my principles but also exhaustion," she said. "I have not slept for days, running away like a foolish predator. I may have been inhuman but everyone has limits." She paused, glaring at Fury. "You should have sent me a message instead of secretly following me. I am a negotiable person."

"Well, most like you are not," Fury retorted. "And since you are as such, I am expecting this discussion to go well. We are from S.H.I.E.L.D., short for—"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. I have heard it," Ase interrupted. "I have watched someone hacking into your systems," she continued when she saw their expressions.

"And I assume you prevented him from doing so?" Coulson asked. Ase nonchalantly nodded. "Then we are indebted to you, I suppose. Perhaps for such deed we can allow you in without further interviews—"

"You know you cannot do that, Coulson," Hill intervened. " _We_ cannot do that."

"I am just suggesting," Coulson said with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders. "It depends on the Director's decision."

"Are you sure you're going to try her?" Hill said again, this time to Fury.

"I know what I'm doing, Hill," Fury answered. He turned to Ase. She folded her hands, glaring at them, awaiting their main point. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has taken interest in you and wants to recruit you as part of …. A group. A group of most capable individuals to unite and protect the planet when required."

Ase merely nodded her head as Fury ended his explanation. Trying to swallow the information, she looked at him doubtfully. "Why… do you want to recruit me? I thought there are more flashy inhumans other than me, those who have more personal history to make them safer to recruit."

"We don't need the flashy ones or the ones with definite past," Fury said, ignoring Hill's reprimanding gaze. "Only someone who is willing to cooperate. As far as we know, you are one of the few fitting the category."

"Again, you don't have enough information to prove that," she replied.

"Not from your personal records, but your performance history," Fury retorted. He then flipped the file, showing Ase the hidden documents containing almost a complete list of her feats. She knew Fury was smiling under his unbroken mask. "You are known as the vigilante Inertia, travelling actively throughout the world only during the recent years. Some data state that you've been in this Earth for 40 years, yet you don't seem to change in appearance. But it is not what interests us. You, as witnesses and sources have stated, have the ability to manipulate physical force."

"Lifting, pushing, pulling objects," Coulson added. "A ruler alone can be a weapon for you, though we don't have enough information to prove your excellence in handling your power."

"However, sources have incited that you are able to move objects over a ton, preventing debris from falling, and to have slight control over gravity. The last one impresses us really well," Hill continued.

"You've used it to help people, becoming an illegal hero," Fury said. "And since it's illegal, by rule you are prohibited to do so. None of the government notices your activities because of your inconspicuous acts. You should join an official organisation or you'll be charged by the government if your existence is revealed."

"And what makes you think I'm going to join you willingly?" Ase inquired. "I have some issues that prevent me from joining any agency, and I have nothing to lose even if the government found me. I have secrets, too many secrets such that I can trust no one. _No one."_

"You don't have to trust us," Coulson reasoned. "Trust yourself as you have been, and rely on us in helping you do the good thing. We are only providing you means to help others."

Ase remained silent, her eyes transfixed to the file folder lying before her. It was not the first time she heard of S.H.I.E.L.D., the organisation formed in the midst of World War 2 to protect global peace. And unbeknownst to many, the same organisation had been employing superhuman agents. She knew this, and it was a chance for her to do better.

Then she pondered, of why she had chosen to fight for others. As far as she was concerned, they owed nothing to her. She was equal to them, living in the same world and destined to die. Yet it was not the people she owed her life to. She owed the world, for protecting her many years from unwanted eyes.

She glanced at Fury, then to the other agents, considering this proposal. It would be impossible for them to offer this under mighty purpose alone. Coulson was fiddling with his fingers, pretending to be calm despite whatever was brewing inside his mind, and Hill touched her chin with great thought. Ase scoffed.

"You seem to be in a dire situation such that you need help from someone like me," Ase deduced. Fury's brows twitched.

"Not dire. Just taking precautions," he retorted. "There have been many _unusual_ events over the course of few months. In the past we almost failed our mission because of our ignorance. I won't let that happen again."

Ase returned to silence, contemplating the offer once more. She would have never refused such offer if she didn't have a dark past. Organisations like S.H.I.E.L.D. often dig too deep into someone's history, and history was not her strong point. None should discover her past. There are always risks, but was she ready to take this one?

"I believe I need to do something before I am accepted," Ase finally spoke. The hope and relief on Fury's face was evident.

"For people with limited backgrounds—rare to find, to be honest—we usually ask several imperative questions regarding their past," Coulson explained. Ase's face immediately darkened, knowing it would come to this. But Coulson knew her thoughts, and the next words he spoke were unexpected. "I believe you said you prevented a hacker from penetrating our systems… Where was it?"

"Japan, two years ago, near Hiroshima" Ase admitted. "He had broken through most of your firewalls. I smashed his computer dead."

Hill looked at Coulson and Fury meaningfully. "Two years ago, we indeed had a hacker who almost broke into our systems. We tracked him to Japan, at the outskirts of Hiroshima. We could not stop him in time, until the process suddenly shut down entirely."

"He's Yamada Akira, deep web's most renowned hacker," Ase said. "It is common to have yourself overwhelmed by his skills."

Hill, realising that Ase's words were true, was rendered into a state of bemusement. Coulson merely smiled, and so was Fury. "I believe we owed you one, Miss Ase. It is unimaginable if our systems were to be leaked, by an excellent hacker no less."

"And for that we shall give you a special exception," Fury said, ignoring Hill's silent protests. "We are taking you in without further process. You are welcome to declare yourself as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, without training or whatsoever."

 _An Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. huh?_ Ase thought. She leaned forward, leaning on her knees. With her decision, she would be an official agent of the organisation, which meant _caged_ by rules and regulations. It was one of the aspects she despised about joining such group. Then again, she wanted to accomplish better deeds. Deeds exceeding the vigilante activities she had achieved, more than stopping hackers or punishing small groups of terrorists.

 _"You are capable of much more,"_ Elliot once said, and it was true.

"Since you're the first to dare approach me regarding this proposal, I shall accept," Ase finally spoke. She could see the reliefs in their faces, even Hill's. "Perhaps I should tell you that I am indeed not a human, as my power suggests. It would be wiser for you not to investigate my past further. You will find nothing."

"We won't," Fury assured her. "In fact, that information only proves that my decision to recruit you is the best." He stood up, extending his hand to Ase. Ase accepted his gesture with concealed doubt and shook his hand. "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D., Ase."

"Inertia," she corrected. "Please call me Inertia from now on. It is more convenient."

"Farewell, Inertia," Fury repeated. "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Avengers initiative."

"Avengers Initiative?" Inertia asked. Coulson chuckled, whilst Hill smiled smugly. Before Coulson could explain the circumstances she was actually in, however, his phone buzzed to life. Breaking his laughter, Coulson took his phone and looked at the caller's number. His humble smile faded instantly as he answered the call.

"I understand," Coulson whispered to his gadget before he ended his call. He turned to Fury, who shared the same look with Coulson once he had closed his own tablet. "Sir, I am afraid pleasantries must end now. There are some… _Alien_ disturbances in New Mexico. I am requested to get there now."

"I know Agent Coulson and you won't be going alone," Fury said, looking at Inertia. She looked as equally confused as Coulson. "As I've said, you won't be training as an initiate like other agents. Nevertheless, we need to assess your abilities fully. This case is a good opportunity for you."

"Her expertise would surely be handy," remarked Coulson.

"Expertise?" Inertia asked as she turned accusingly to Coulson. "Care to explain? I've just entered a secret organisation here."

"You'll know eventually," Coulson said. "But what I can tell you is that it involves a large blast, and an unmoving hammer."

* * *

A/N: The first author's note in a while! So, this one is still a prologue of the story to introduce my OC, Ase A.K.A. Inertia. Don't ask me where did I get that name. The name was quite cool and befitting her powers so I decided to take it. Anyhow, please rate and review, and click favourite if you like it! I'll be seeing you soon!


	3. 0101: Cube of Miracles

**2012, Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility.**

It had been only tens of minutes since she had taken a break. He did not want to disturb her, yet after the heinous tasks she had been assigned to, he was compelled to make sure she was fine. Since her first entering S.H.I.E.L.D., he had seen her as his own daughter, nevertheless how old she might be. Not a daughter, but perhaps a protégé.

He was not sure whether she saw him as an equal, but he knew she had a deeper respect towards him than Fury.

Amid such thought, he failed to notice the intense trembling beneath his feet. Coulson almost dropped the coffee in his hand when a powerful blast hit his footing for good. He stumbled forward, but managed to regain his stance whilst saving the coffee. Sighing, he turned to the door before him. _She's at it again,_ he thought, pressing a button to open the room. He had expected another tremor as the doors slid open, revealing a young woman practicing with her staff, only to be surprised by the weapon stopping in front of his face. Wind spliced two, blowing his face with a gentle breeze.

Inertia looked back at the man, the stray hairs from her long ponytail obstructing her bronze gaze. Pale as always, nevertheless the tremendous amount of sunlight exposure, she blinked.

"Coffee?" Coulson said, extending the drink to the woman. "Dark roast, extra caffeine. Thought it might cheer you up."

"After those assignments? Not likely," she replied curtly, even though she took the beverage gratefully. "Are you bribing me? You know this doesn't work nevertheless how much you add the caffeine." She pulled the staff away from his face and spun it nonchalantly.

"I know it might cheer you up," retorted Coulson. Inertia scoffed and leaned the weapon against the wall. He eyed it with slight apprehension. In her first day as an 'agent'—rather an inaccurate title, really, for she despised that word—that weapon had taken on a being unlike any other in Earth. Despite him being without weapon, Inertia had proven her skillset much frightening than expected.

Inertia sipped her drink carefully. "What are you doing here? I thought I deserve my already shortened break in privacy."

"I know you do," Coulson said. "I just want to make sure you're alright. You've been pushing yourself hard by guarding the Tesseract. I don't want to lose my number one subordinate."

She raised a brow. "I've suffered worse, Coulson. Though I should tell you that I am quite uncomfortable with guarding the Tesseract, especially ever since it has emitted that strange energy."

He could only imagine her discomfort. He was one of the few who knew of her sensitivity towards energies, especially disturbing ones, and her intense unpleasantness when confronting a foul one. "I know you don't want to deal with alien artefacts so much after your first mission. I am slightly disappointed myself, having promised you no more of this kind of tasks—"

"This is different from the Asgardian hammer, Coulson," she retorted sharply. Putting her coffee down, she huffed and glared at Coulson. "This… cube. It is very obnoxious. Not that the energy it emits is foul, but I just feel… _unnerved_ by its immense power."

"You are not the only one." Coulson was giving her a strange look, and she understood.

"No. For the hundredth time, I am _not_ an Asgardian. I thought we are already over that matter."

"Well, I am still convinced that it is true," Coulson reasoned. "After seeing you brawl with Thor last year…"

"He had no weapon and his powers were taken from him," Inertia continued as she rolled her eyes. A year ago, her staff had struck Thor's abdomen directly after he had failed to lift Mjolnir. It was the first mission she was assigned in after the hammer fell on New Mexico. She had known Mjolnir as not an ordinary hammer, as Elliot had marvelled about it for a long time.

At first, Inertia thought her purpose there was just to try lifting the legendary artefact, but she realised she was so wrong when she saw Thor himself breaking into the encampment dedicated in researching the weapon. She was ordered to subdue Thor, and she did. Thor was in a weakened state, much to her relief, and she managed to defeat him quickly. Her first and worst message, a strange turn of fate occurred and she ended up befriending the God of Thunder. Elliot had warned her not confront any member of his race for it might reveal her true heritage. But she had not been involved deeper into otherworldly objects since that incident, except cleaning New Mexico after a giant robot almost destroyed the city.

Months went rather peaceful for her afterwards. Without the need of proper training, she was assigned under Coulson and worked many missions with him. She respected him as her superior, more than she respected Fury as the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. Perhaps it was because Coulson was kind to her, a remembrance of Elliot. He had taken care of her, given her everything she needed, including her new staff.

But now the staff was only a reminder of how things had changed in her life.

The Tesseract research came in, and Eric Selvig arrived as the head of its research. Inertia was pulled out of her comfort zone and immediately dumped into the current research facility, along with Clint Barton. Now she was standing there, waiting for her already shortened break to be over and return to her post, in a damned reeking lab filled with mad scientists and a bird.

"Back to the Tesseract then," Coulson sighed. "I am afraid that you won't be leaving the Cube's vicinity soon. I know you despise that thing so much, but it is too dangerous to place such potent object under normal eyes. We need a pair of inhumane ones in case something happens."

"I understand I am the only one capable of doing so," Inertia said. "And I understand that humans often interfere with something they don't understand, and the consequences are never pleasant."

"You're saying we should leave the Tesseract alone?"

"Not alone, just untouched. It's beyond our knowledge, and not something safe to understand. Perhaps we should have asked help from those capable."

"Such as?"

Inertia pursed her lips and refused to continue. Noticing that her break was up, she put her cup on the table. "My time is up. I'll see you in the lab."

"Again, zipping your mouth unnecessarily."

"Some things are meant to be unknown," she simply said. Coulson sighed once more before he left her alone in the room. She wiped her forehead clean from sweat, Elliot's warning haunting her. She should have not spoken so much, not even in front of Coulson. Who knows what the Watcher had seen from that conversation.

Grabbing her weapon and white jacket, Inertia left the room quickly. She reluctantly walked past the strolling agents, most of them staring at her. With the massive uneasiness in her stomach, she managed to ignore their eyes and focus on the energy nudging her senses. Her hereditary ability to sense energies and forces around her worked as a double-edged sword. The Tesseract's energy continued to awake her at nights, and even now she could not concentrate so well.

She wondered whether these people really understood that the Tesseract was also a double-edged sword. Most of these agents perhaps had not even seen the Cube. She had never trusted them, nor they did they trust her. For them, she was just a stranger employed under Fury, appearing a year ago under the most suspicious circumstances.

 _The Avengers Initiative._ It had been a year and Fury had not even brought up the subject again. Inertia wondered whether she had been cleverly deceived.

She arrived in the lab before Coulson did. It was not her ahead arrival which surprised her when she entered the large room, but the Tesseract instead. Her skin shivered when she felt the radiated energy, far stronger than she remembered. Far _menacing._

Yet she was very tempted to reach for it. Her hands trembled, resisting the urge to step closer. She wanted to deny it, but the nausea plaguing her mind—caused by the Tesseract—was also balanced by an unquenched desire to experiment the object's powers. Could it enable her to do magic or amplify her powers?

"What's happening, doctor?"

Inertia caught Coulson walking past her. Snapped back to reality, she noticed the scientists looking aghast as they observed the Tesseract. Selvig, in particular, was mesmerised by the cube. Coulson acted calmly, watching in apprehension when a scientist almost burnt his hands after he poked a stick into the Cube. Furiously Selvig snatched the stick from the curious Coulson, unamused by his inattentive action. Coulson rubbed his hand, looking as cool as he had always been. "Things are progressing well, I believe?"

"No, it isn't" Inertia answered in Selvig's stead. "The Tesseract is behaving way harsher than before." She ended her words with a glare at Selvig, who was still bemused by her capability to discern the cube's state. "Something triggers this."

"And more unstable, for that matter, but I didn't do anything," retorted Selvig. "I was at the bathroom when the lab reported." Receiving a doubtful look from Coulson, Selvig continued. "Look, I am tasked t study it but I have never dared to use it or play with it. Furthermore, the reaction is spontaneous!"

Coulson glanced at his protégé. Inertia stood as still as a statue, equally unconvinced as he was. Yet, judging by Selvig's expression, he was not lying: despite being a mad scientist, he knew better than to risk his life over a simple curiousity. "Evacuate the facility," Coulson finally instructed to a nearby agent. Selvig gaped at his decision, clearly not agreeing with this. "I do not want to take any risk, doctor. We don't even know what this object is capable of, other than it being a source of energy and a gateway to someplace in the universe."

"It's only behaving, I assure you," Selvig suggested. "It's not like it's going to explore or anything."

"That's what we initially said when we found a persistent hammer," Inertia retorted. Selvig of course remembered the incident the year before, and Inertia succeeded in suppressing any of his urges to protest Coulson's decisions.

"Furthermore, as far as I have seen, this object is like a mini nuclear reactor," Coulson continued firmly. Selvig looked around, seeing the protocol just announced commencing. All agents in the compound moved hastily and in order, a hint of panic in their eyes. Coulson knew, however, that the evacuation protocol would be quite useless if they didn't know the safe distance they should take. The Cube might as well be stronger than a nuclear reactor or atomic bomb despite its small size. A nuclear bomb recently could wipe out an entire city, so this alien rubic might as well devour them all if it explodes.

Coulson rolled his sleeve and took a glance at his watch. Frowning, he turned to Inertia, who was still looking at the Cube with both fear and curiosity. "I'm going to call Fury. You stay here with Barton and guard the Cube."

"Yes, sir," Inertia answered despite her wavering heart.

"Good," Coulson said with a small smile. He then nodded at Clint, who perched like a bird above them. Clint, with his goofy black glasses, saluted man as he leaned against the railing above nonchalantly. Inertia and Coulson sighed, the latter shaking his head before he left the room, leaving only Inertia and Clint with several other men to watch the ever-suspicious scientists.

Inertia inhaled a deep, exhausted breath, and took a seat near the Tesseract. She sat still, listening to her heart which beat according to the Tesseract's pulse. _It is more than just an energy reactor,_ she mused, gripping her disassembled rods tight.

" _Bored?"_ she heard Clint asking through her comms. Inertia looked up t see Clint playng with his bow. " _What? I thought you like a monotonous life and now you don't seem to like it."_

"I am certainly not enjoying this kind of boredom," she responded, connecting the rods into a full staff. The weapon glistened under the room lights, reminding her it was a weapon capable of massive destruction. With its enhanced features, it was a tool of great catastrophe, now capable of breaking the ground without her exerting her abilities on it. "You get to travel elsewhere whereas I spent almost half a year looking at this blue rubic."

" _And you get to relax here while I need to travel and injure my poor muscles,"_ retorted Clint, inducing a smirk on Inertia's face. Once she entered S.H.I.E.L.D., she was given strict rules of where she could travel and what she could do. Fury had said she was an important 'asset', too important to let loose and unwatched. It was one of the many things she despised as an agent, though she could not deny being there had brought her some friends. Fortunately even, those friends were warm and true to their hearts.

After leaving Elliot, her guardian and mentor when she turned 17, she had not encountered many sincere beings. Most people she had met had motives behind them, including Fury. Clint and Coulson, however, were exceptions. They actually treated her as if she was their sister—ignoring the fact she was older than all of the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel. She had a second home to return to, in the form of a carefree archer and a wise old man.

" _Espionage is not really a thing to boast about. Sometimes I am envious of you working as a bodyguard and armed personnel,"_ Clint defended.

"Well, you are too weak to be a bodyguard anyway," Inertia argued with a chuckle. Clint snorted in return, either impressed or disappointed by her sarcasm. Nevertheless, it eased her boredom slightly, at east for now.

" _Hey. I don't think Selvig is really impressed with the Cube,"_ Clint said after a while. Inertia turned her attention to Selvig, who seemed quite panicked and dazed when he gazed into the monitor recording the Cube's activity. She could feel it too, the energy rising far beyond their expectation. She stood up as the power continued to build up, restless of what it might imply.

"Well, if Fury is to arrive, he better does so quickly."

oOo

It was only four hours later did Nick Fury, the infamous director of S.H.I.E.L.D., arrive at the facility. Accompanying him was Agent Maria Hill, her eyes constantly wary of her surroundings. The helicopter buzzing behind them could not hide the chaos ensuing in the facility, which dismayed Fury immediately The two were greeted by Coulson, his face kind and innocent as usual. He looked _too_ calm for a person who had just alerted him of a possible nuclear explosion four hours earlier.

"How bad is it?" Fury asked Coulson once he reached the solid ground.

"That's the problem, sir. We don't know," Coulson answered as they began pacing to the main lab. "Four hours ago, Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract."

"NASA didn't authorise Selvig to test phase," Fury said, reading his peer's hesitance.

"He wasn't testing wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement," Coulson retorted. "And it has been developing tremendously over the past hours. I have assigned Inertia and Barton to watch the researchers and report me anything… The last report doesn't show any good indications."

"So it just turned itself on and acting on its own?" asked Hill, who was bemused by his explanation.

"What are the energy levels now?" asked Fury in turn.

"As I've said, it is climbing, reaching levels which signify no good news. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac."

"How long to get everyone out?" inquired Fury while he studied the escaping personnel.

"Campus should be clear in the next half hour," answered Coulson.

"Do better," Fury ordered. "Go take care of the men. Leave the lab to me."

Coulson nodded and subsequently disappeared from Fury's vicinity. Fury and Hill took a turn in the chaotic corridor before they entered the laboratory area. "If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance," Hill suggested.

"I need to make sure that PHASE 2 prototypes are out," Fury responded.

"Sir, is that really a priority right now?" asked Hill. She knew the importance of the prototypes—they might as well be the only way to bring peace, said the World Council—but to her the lives of their men were now their outmost importance.

"Until such time as the world ends, we will act as thought it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of PHASE 2 on a truck and gone," Fury answered surely, his tone stern enough to prevent her from arguing further. Hill nodded in accordance and went to the agents standing not far. She directed them to follow her before she, like Coulson, disappeared. Fury, for the first time in a while, sighed. There had always been a fine line between his orders and moral importance. Back when he was a junior in his field, he had always thought of his men first before any non-living objects; but he had learned so much in his life, enough to tell him that sacrifices sometimes must be made.

He hoped this time there would be no sacrifices needed.

Fury finally arrived in the lab, welcomed by one of is quietest yet most aggressive asset. Inertia folded her arms as the director joined the fray, her bronze eyes blazing sharp as always. It had been months since his first encounter with her, yet she hadn't changed. "Director," Inertia and Selvig said simultaneously, the former's voice cold and derisive. "About time," the woman continued in a whisper, exasperated by his late arrival. Fury did not mind her usual indirect admonition and instead approached Doctor Selvig. Inertia huffed, not impressed when Clint tried to surprise her by landing behind her back. He did not look satisfied either with Fury's arrival, having just waited four hours doing nothing.

"Is there anything we know for certain?" Fury asked the doctor who, as far as Inertia was concerned, had not slept for nights. Neither had she.

"The Tesseract is only misbehaving," explained Selvig, trying to be as convincing as possible. "It's not only active, but misbehaving."

"How soon until you pull the plug?" Fury asked dumbly. Inertia snorted and looked away.

"She's an energy source," Selvig told Fury. "If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level… We don't have the harness to use energy from space. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing interference, radiation," Selvig paused and studied Fury's reaction. "Nothing harmful though; just low levels of gamma radiation."

"Gamma radiation," Inertia scoffed. Both looked at her. "My instincts tell me that it is more than a gamma radiation. It produces a different type of energy than those found on Earth. It is beyond our comprehension."

"So you're saying we shouldn't have researched this thing?" asked Selvig in turn. Inertia frowned, eyeing the cube.

"Man hasn't learnt anything from their past mistakes," Inertia brusquely answered. Fury stepped between Selvig and the woman, warning her of her sharp attitude. She created an equally stern face, warning Fury of what he had done.

"The least thing we need now is a fight between assets," Fury told Inertia. "You might be older than any of us, miss, but here I'm in charge. I say what to do and you do it, understand?"

She remained silent, though her gaze refused to let go.

"Do any of you saw anything which might set this thing off?" Fury continued with a sigh.

"No one's come or gone and Selvig's clean. No contacts, no I.M's. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end," reported Clint. Fury once more turned to Inertia, expecting a different report or at least a supporting argument. Yet she had zipped her mouth close, her attention more drawn to the spiking levels of energy now the Cube emitted. "She hasn't seen anything on the ground either. Nothing suspicious."

"Perhaps Barton is right," Inertia spoke slowly. "The one playing with the object is not from the inside."

"The Cube is a doorway to the other end of the space, right? Doors open from both sides, as far as we are concerned," Clint bluntly explained.

"We assume someone or something is meddling with it from the other side. That's our argument, which we have talked about for the past four hours," Inertia continued with a hint of annoyance. She was about to add another sarcasm when suddenly she sensed a spike of energy coming from the Cube.

"Doctor, it's spiking again," a scientist reported, gaining all their attentions. Selvig stared at the screen in horror, watching the graph line inflating into a high peak. The Tesseract began shaking erratically, alerting Fury and his two agents. Inertia immediately stepped in front of Clint and the director, raising her staff whilst the archer clenched his bow and searched for an arrow.

The Tesseract began shaking the entire facility, alarming Coulson and Hill at different ends simultaneously. Coulson knew it was certainly _not_ his protégé's doing and he instantly called Hill, who regretted his decision of leaving the director in the lab.

As the building vibrated, the Cube emanated an ominous azure glow. Inertia's footing shifted, her heart beating faster as the object transformed into a bright luminescent light which blinded their eyes. The energy before her was unlike anything in the world. It no longer frightened her, but instead _endeared_ her senses.

Something about it was _familiar._

"Stand back," she muttered, staring at a small model of sun summoning an unknown aura. It shot a blast of energy to the vacant platform at the end of the lab. All agents and scientists inside the room staggered back and observed the blast forming a circle of portal on the platform. A shudder shook Inertia's internals and rendered her highly alarmed, yet at the same time she felt an inevitable pull towards the expanse of alien matter. She was about to take a step closer when she sensed something, or _someone,_ lingering inside the menacing energy.

And that someone was not a stranger. Someone whom she had seen before.

She was pondering over this inscrutable familiarity when, as she had expected, the portal blasted a wave of sapphire energy to its surroundings. Yet it did not harm them or any of the equipment. It was only a gust of wind which blew past their flesh, as if teasing them. But what waited on the previously empty platform was not expected by Inertia.

A figure, clouded with the remaining energy from the portal, knelt on the platform. The remaining fog of blue ascended to the ceiling, clustering into an irreversible cloud of smoke and revealing the being in front of them.

"Please… don't advance," Inertia warned the advancing agents, but they brushed her hesitant warning away. They did not listen. They sneaked closer to the being, peering through their scopes and aiming for his head. Inertia was rooted to the ground, either because she knew this person or the killing intense he radiated was too intense to handle and blinded her senses.

The stranger finally lifted his face slowly, revealing a menacing smile and icy blue eyes. She now remembered where she had seen this being before. It was a year ago, on her first mission. This intruder, she knew from heart, was similar to Thor and his kind, but _darker._ His skin contrasted Thor's bronze one, the aura enveloping his entirety resembling that of someone vile. Yet his face showed nothing of strength or evil, but _exhaustion._ He looked more battered than themselves, as if he had been tortured.

"No," she said, though she did not know to whom she directed her word to. The intruder stood up, lifting a glowing spear which all of them had just noticed. His smile slowly faded when his eyes landed on the stealthy troops, and he scowled.

Inertia shifted just too late to prevent hell from breaking loose.

oOo

 _Her hands were still trembling. After years of training, facing against a true Asgardian was still an inscrutable challenge for her. She stood there, staring at her bruised arms. It would heal in no time, without doubt, though the emotional shock she had had would take longer to disappear. She had_ almost _gone out of control._

 _"Do not let anyone know," Inertia whispered to herself. After the truculent of disaster before, the encampment in New Mexico seemed more peaceful now. Rubbing her hands, she strolled hesitantly to Thor's cell. He was, she could see, bewildered by his defeat, or perhaps by his inability to lift his own weapon. What had caused him to fail?_

 _But when she neared his cell, she abruptly stopped. There was someone else other than the Asgardian inside the room. The presence was cold, and bitter._

 _And Thor was speaking to someone else._

 _"Thank you for coming here," Thor dejectedly said._

 _"Nothing could have stopped me," his visitor whispered. Inertia stepped into the room, discovering nothing but empty air before Thor. She clutched her weapon tight and glanced around cautiously. Thor stared at her with a startled expression._

 _"Goodbye," Thor said. Inertia gaped at him, for she could still feel the presence inside the room. Coulson entered then, startled by Inertia's figure lingering inside the cell._

 _"Inertia, what are you doing here?" Coulson asked._

 _Inertia did not answer and instead barged out of the room. She could feel it; the footsteps of the intruder as if parched on the ground like a brand. Neither did she question who he was or what was his intentions here. All she cared at that current moment was to find him._

 _She instantly found him._

 _Her eyes moved towards the hammer, centred in the crater. And in the middle of that crater was a man, his figure tall and his hair dark. His hand was on the hammer, grasping it with intense care which frightened her._

 _She rushed downstairs. She regretted not leaping down directly, ignoring all the stairs and ladders._

 _She arrived to glimpse only a pair of diminishing eyes staring back at her._

 _The man was no more, only the hammer as lonely as ever. She walked towards it, her fingers touching its handle yet did not dare lifting it. She knew she was not worthy enough to do so._

 _It was cold, very cold._

* * *

A/N: Here comes the second chapter! It starts directly from the Avengers, and here there's a timeskip. Inertia has joined S.H.I.E.L.D. over that missing time, yet she's still doubtful of whether to trust the organisation or not. I hope you like it and thank you for those who have read it! Please feel free to give me some inputs if necessary!


	4. 0102: The Woman Who Can't be Moved

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything belonging to MCU and its creators**

There had never been a time in his life in which he doubted his enemy. Whenever he faced an opponent, he was sure it was his role to defeat him, that he was on the right side of the battle. But he had changed so much after his exile from Asgard. The time he had spent in the endless abyss, in the mercy of that creature's power, had transformed his mind.

In his blue eyes, none was an ally. Everyone were enemies or tools for victory.

Yet the first person he encountered after he escaped the portal of torture was someone whose position in this battle he could not decide. Or, to be precise, he could not choose whether to keep her as a hostage or to eliminate her entirely, for she was no stranger. He had seen her before.

Her bronze eyes shone with familiar ferocity, yet brimming with sympathy and despondence.

Loki was sure enough that this woman, armed with a silver staff which rivalled Sif's spear, was not a mere human. She was pale, incredibly pale, like the gentle moon in the sky. Yet her face was fierce like a beast, her bronze eyes radiating fire and courage. And around her, Loki swore he must have mistaken, was _magic._ It was as if she was a sorceress herself. If she was truly the same woman he had encountered a year ago, then she was entirely different now.

He saw her shifting minutely. _So she's afraid,_ Loki thought bitterly. _So she is like any others… Afraid of my whole being._

"Sir, please put down the spear," his other opponent, a one-eyed, dark-skinned man, ordered.

"Sir, he won't," the woman told the man surely, even in her state of doubt. Loki smiled at her cleverness, and she stiffened in return. He stared at his spear, a gift from Thanos, with a considerable amount of admiration. In his hand was a powerful weapon capable of killing dozens in a single strike, though he had not tried its strength yet. Here, before him, was a suitable test subject.

 _Prove to me that you are more than just a human,_ he mused, before he shot a bolt of energy to Fury and Clint. Inertia's muscles sparked and reacted just in time to create a force field protecting the two—inevitably thrown back when the powerful blast hit the shield. She rolled back, clutching her staff, and regained her footing.

Loki grinned with amusement, for he had never seen such power before. And before she could counter his attack, he had lunged to one of the armed personnel and pierced his chest deeply with his blade. He beamed when he saw the man succumbing to his death. It was a terrifying yet endearing emotion, seeing the man dying. He did not remember having this feeling before he fell from Bifrost. His body moved on its own, striking his other opponents with sheer force and speed none in the room could rival.

"Asgardian," Inertia gasped. "Everyone GET BACK!" she subsequently warned the other agents now assaulting Loki, but they did not pay heed to her warning. Their senses were blinded by their gunshots and fear, and their ignorance was their most fatal choice. Loki, unharmed in any way, swiftly moved among the men as he fired his weapon relentlessly and stabbed anyone in vicinity. In a short time bodies fell, like leaves of the autumn left to decay, and blood tinged the floor and the air.

Inertia gaped at the sight of a dozen bodies scattered on the floor. The only survivors were Fury, Clint, an agent, and the researchers. And her; the last line of defense.

Loki pulled his spear away from his last victim, and whirled around to the audience. "I thought I heard someone mention 'Asgardian'," he muttered his weapon to each one of them. He narrowed his eyes when the spear landed on Inertia, who was rooted to the ground. "It was you, isn't it? Where did you get that knowledge?"

"Does is matter to you?" she answered. "Your purpose here is not to question my knowledge, is it not? I see that your purpose is to wreak havoc on Earth."

Though she said that bitterly, he could see hesitance in her eyes. What was she hesitating about?

Loki stepped closer and tilted his head. "You seem to be different than the others."

"I _am_ different," she whispered. Loki frowned, and so did she. "Fury, get the Cube!" she immediately screamed, swinging her staff. Taken aback by her desperation, Loki shot his weapon at her. She switched her stance just in time to dampen the direct blast. She staggered back, her boots grinding against the ground, before she charged.

With a speed equalling her opponent, she extended her hand and sent a force powerful enough to kill a man with a single blow. Yet Loki was merely flown to the wall of the platform, and cracked it with the amount of force he received. He chuckled, suppressing the slight pain he experienced, and returned to his feet.

"And here I thought my plan would be undisrupted… I was terribly wrong."

"Who are you and what is your true purpose?" she asked with outmost composure, raising her weapon. She was surprised to death when, instead of answering, he attacked her once more. He leapt at her and struck her staff with his spear, sending a jolt of energy to her body. She rolled back in a series of tumbles, not noticing him sending another powerful strike. She could not defend herself, and inevitably flew across the room. Pain trembled through her body, something which had not occurred for decades.

Thunder struck her veins, paralysing her entirety into a solid statue. For a moment she could only hear echoes of he surroundings, but then she saw her comrades being assaulted by her opponent. Loki attacked Clint ruthlessly, using his spear to disarm the agent. He pinned Clint to the wall and pointed his weapon to his heart. Clint tried to retaliate, but the Asgardian quickly subdued him useless.

"Do you have heart?" he asked him. The man glanced momentarily away from him, looking at the woman lying limp on the ground. She stared back, pain obvious on her face. "Oh, I forgot. You're a human. You have heart." Loki smiled wickedly as he gently placed the edge of his weapon atop Clint's chest. He saw her widening her eyes, as if understanding what's happening.

Inertia crouched on her stomach, trying to reach her teammate, but could only watch in outmost horror. In her eyes she saw a flow of aether from the weapon to Clint's heart. She saw it festering in his body, plaguing each and every part of his existence. Slowly his eyes transformed as well, turning dark before forming icy blue balls. Upon this change Clint slowly loosened his body and put down the handgun he had been trying to reach.

She could see he was no longer her comrade.

So she turned to Fury as she struggled to her feet. _Go,_ she told him through her eyes, pulling her staff close. She laid motionlessly as she watched Fury shuffling, trying to regain her own strength. But before Fury could take a single step with the Tesseract, the Asgardian spoke.

"Please don't do that," he warned, though his attention was still focused on transforming the other agents and researchers.

"This doesn't have to get messier," Fury persuaded. Inertia surreptitiously crouched away from her previous ground.

"Of course it does," Loki replied, pulling his spear away from his latest victim. "I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

Inertia froze, and so did Selvig. "Loki? Brother of Thor?" Selvig asked. Inertia could only prepare for the worst. Elliot had told her stories regarding this man, of how cunning and powerful he was. The God of Mischief, a master of words and tricks, was not one should be messing with, especially if one was not a god.

Selvig had informed S.H.I.E.L.D. that Thor had some problems with his brother when Mjolnir case happened a year ago, and now she had the feeling their problems were not well-resolved. Whatever happened between the two surely caused a turn of tide in Loki's life.

"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury said, stealing a glance from Inertia. Loki too glanced at her.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki retorted with a mocking smile. "Though one of you here is bigger than an ant."

"You planning to step on us?" inquired Fury, grasping for his holstered gun. Loki scoffed and shook his head.

"I come with glad tidings, of a world made free. Free from freedom," he explained. "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart…" Loki paused and approached the transfixed Selvig. The doctor was frozen with fear and helplessness as Loki touched his chest with the spear. Slowly his eyes too turned like Barton and the others. Loki smiled malevolently. "You will know peace."

"Yeah, you say peace. I kind of think you mean the other think," Fury snapped. He glanced at the ceiling where the remnants of the portal energy were condensing. Clint flinched.

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling," Clint deduced. "This place is about to blow, drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us." Inertia glared at him to no avail. He could no longer differentiate her as his ally.

"He's right. The portal is collapsing on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical," Selvig added. Inertia cursed internally. She knew the agents were under Loki's control, but did not expect them to be conversational at all. It seemed they were not mere dolls, but intelligent puppets.

Now returning to her better state, she sneaked behind the tables with incredible stealth. "Well then," Loki said before she could act. Loki nodded at Clint who, without hesitation, shot Fury on the chest. All happened so fast that Inertia's eyes could not follow. Fury staggered back as he received the accurately fired bullet.

"Fury!" Inertia gasped. Loki was once more reminded of her presence, her uncurbed actions. She emerged from her hiding place with her staff. Gritting her teeth, she swung a shockwave with her staff and pushed Loki several centimetres, unharmed. She did not stop and advanced in a flash of light, aiming for Loki's head. The Asgardian shuffled as fast as her and received her attack with his spear.

Loki trembled when her power clashed with his. Up close he could see her complete ferocity, the determination to take him down. Yet he found her visage very strange.

It lacked hate and despite one should have had for him.

"Get the Tesseract out of this place!" Loki ordered. Inertia pulled back in the brief moment and swung her staff to Loki's abdomen. Loki gasped when, despite her attack not appearing dangerous or fatal, he was sent across the room—wrecking the numerous equipment in process.

"Inertia! The Tesseract!" Fury reminded, apparently surviving Clint's lethal shot. Inertia whirled around to Clint and the other controlled agents, now running too far for her to pursue. She left her staff aside and extended her hand. An invisible force radiated from her hand, pulling Clint and stopping his strides. Clint grabbed the gun in his holster and fired at her. She shifted her body just in time to dodge the first shot, but the next ones found her skin. They fortunately could not penetrate her flesh, though she lost her focus as a result.

She threw her staff away and reached for another hand. The bullets stopped mid-air, deflected by her powers. Once Clint lost all of his bullets, she started her counter attack. She neither wanted to kill Clint nor hurt him mortally with the bullets, so she lifted her staff and disassembled it into three hovering rods. With a quick flick of her hands she threw the rods one by one. They flew directly towards Clint's head, pinpointing for his skull.

It was inches before they found their target when she lost control of her body.

Pain throbbed across her muscles, an agony unlike any she had ever experienced. She screamed, her body paralysing completely. She heard her weapons clashing with the ground, and her own body. All she could see was fogs of figures and objects. Her ears could not discern between the sound of her heartbeat and the sound of footsteps.

With her deteriorating vision, she saw a man moving towards her, and then kneeling before her. "You should not have done that," Loki whispered. Inertia froze. Something about his words nagged her conscience.

 _He sympathises me._

 _Why?_

Inertia groaned, trying to pull her weapon, but she had no strength left. "It is my first time to see a being like you and consider me intrigued. But I have a greater purpose and no time to study you. Perhaps… if you survived all these ordeals, we would have a proper conversation."

"Don't," she murmured desperately. She could not see clearly, but she swore she saw him smiling slightly.

He did not try to injure her further, yet alone kill her. He left her be on the ground, pacing away from her sight. Inertia tasted blood in her mouth, from her bitten lips. Never had she felt so helpless; never had she met an enemy so strong and cunning. What was the use of all her years of training?

She peered over her shoulder and saw Fury—apparently not dead yet—wriggling awake.

It was only then did she fully feel the pain from the blast, much more aching than before. Around her the world started fading, seemingly discoloured. Had her world been colourful in the first place? Then, her vision turned off, and for a moment she floated in a dark space, reminiscing the long journey she had taken. For a second, she was sure she was in the brink of dying… until her comms buzzed to life.

" _Inertia? Inertia are you alright?"_

Coulson's voice fluttered her eyes awake and she groaned, reaching for her earphones. To the end, he would never surrender, and so would she. Staggering to her feet, she studied their situation. "Sir, the Tesseract…" she choked, leaning on the wall for support. She felt her back burning against the cold wall, a casualty of the unknown immense energy. Yet there was no reek of iron, which was a good thing. "The Tesseract has been stolen."

Waiting for an answer, she walked to Fury brokenly. The man lifted his head with a wince and showed her his chest, miraculously protected by Kevlar and his broad muscle. "Sir, can you stand?" she inquired.

"Not now. Not quick enough to pursue them," Fury grunted. "But you can, can you?"

She nodded hesitantly, but her next move was without doubt. Ignoring all the pain now throbbing her body, she forcibly pushed her legs to chase after the Asgardian, anger and fury fuelling what strength she had left. If she was a mere human, she would have certainly died from the last blast. It was a miracle for her to find herself running again.

Coulson did not receive her report, it seemed. She needed to take matters on her own. She adjusted her comms for wide broadcast as she picked her disassembled weapon, attaching it again into a single rod.

"This is Inertia speaking," she coughed. Her body was recovering, but not fast enough to accelerate her speed. She needed reinforcements. "The facility has been breached. The Tesseract has been taken by an intruder and our own agents, now under control. The intruder has a dangerous spear. I repeat, the Tesseract has bee taken. Requesting all personnel for backup towards the tunnel!"

She wasn't sure if her words would be obeyed—she had never been a high-ranking officer—but in this chaotic state and after the small earthquake before, certainly several agents would listen.

Running through the corridors, she finally arrived at the garage, where she was greeted by one of the few apparently listening to her broadcast. She looked lost for a moment before she slammed her hand on the jeep and jumped into the driver's seat. "Shit!" Hill cursed. "Get in!"

Inertia did not need for the woman to remind her and instantly leapt onto the back of the jeep. Hill stepped on the gas and drove faster than a normal driver is capable of—in this case, she was not just an ordinary chauffeur—and caused Inertia to grab tight on her own as Hill moved the car into the tunnel. "Remind me how did this happen?" Hill shouted, her extraordinary senses focused on the road.

"Mainly because we meddle with things far out of our hands—" Inertia gaped when the facility trembled, as if another earthquake hit momentarily. "Hill, if we can't get our hands on the Cube, we better get out of here!"

"We are _definitely_ getting that Cube," Hill yelled. She continued to command the vehicle madly until their targets were in vicinity. In front of her, the reinforcements Inertia had requested appeared. They fired at Loki and his controlled men, which was a fool's act and it was partially Inertia's fault for not informing them that he was an Asgardian. The attacks merely angered Loki as a result.

"Watch out!" warned Inertia as she noticed Loki's spear glowing. He launched an attack to the jeep driving in front of them, instantly killing its driver and putting its pursuit to a halt. Hill turned just in time to evade the jeep with outmost precision before speeding up once more to close into the enemy.

"Hello there," Loki greeted childishly, though his face said another. Was he regretting his decision to leave her alive?

He scowled and fired again at her, or at Hill to be precise. Inertia deflected each one of them using a force field and sent it to Loki's vehicle in return. She might not be as excellent in accuracy as Clint, but she knew where to aim; she countered all his attacks towards his jeep's wheels. Loki's vehicle swayed as her counter measures hit the ground beneath it.

"Go faster!" Loki ordered Clint, who drove his vehicle. Clint was, as far as Inertia had observed, not as excellent a driver as Hill; but the hypnotism taking effect on him seemed to enhance certain weak aspects of his skill. Gradually, his jeep distance itself from Hill's after it barely evaded another attack from Inertia.

Loki halted his assault at the duo, much to Inertia's relief. She took this chance to play her own game. She twirled her staff and sent a vertical shockwave to the enemy jeep, almost succeeding in flipping it. Her muscle burnt in the process and she grimaced, noticing that her shockwave was not as fatal as she had expected. The only result she brought was to distance the enemy jeep further.

"We have to flank them!" Hill informed Inertia as she took a sharp turn at the branching tunnel. Hill's jeep immediately joined the shadows, disappearing from Loki's vicinity. He peeked from his position and searched for his opponents warily, particularly Inertia. He was now in a dilemma, to decide whether he was terrified or mesmerised by her powers.

Hill's jeep darted in front of his, like a lion cornering its prey. Hill quickly turned her vehicle to face Clint's directly, and Inertia stared eye to eye with her comrade. He certainly did not understand or cower under her glare, for he took his gun and fired it mercilessly at Hill. Inertia returned all his projectiles and prepared to attack the jeep once more. However, Loki disturbed her momentum with his crafty spear, again releasing a ball of concentrated energy. Inertia was forced to retreat back and Hill was fractionally disturbed, enough for Clint to step on the gas and crash her vehicle.

Hill lost her concentration and was forced to pull back, leaving a path for Clint to escape. "Take the jeep down!" Hill ordered. Inertia regained her ground after letting Loki's blast past her shoulders and aimed her staff like a throwing javelin. Clint's life was now not her concern, for only a single thing occupied her disarrayed mind: the Tesseract.

Before she could destroy the jeep or pierce it, however, a strong vibration from the collapsing facility threw her back. "Damn it!" she cursed, struggling to rise up to no avail. The vibration was getting stronger, turning itself into a major earthquake. Hill's fierce driving faltered and they swayed to the walls of the tunnel. Inertia desperately clung onto the body of the jeep as she tried to see their targets, which were now apparently out of their reach. "Forget about the Cube! We need to get out of here!"

Hill did not object and urged the vehicle to advance faster. Not a split second later, they heard a large explosion coming from the centre of the compound. The ground shook and the ceilings of the tunnels cracked. Behind them, the tunnels began collapsing. Hill, glancing the rear mirror, widened her eyes in terror. She sped up, forcing the car to its limits.

Debris began falling above them, and Inertia created a strong force field above her as she clutched tightly on the body of the jeep. Hill inaudibly cursed when a debris landed just inches behind their backmost wheel. All her efforts to escape the tunnel were in vain when a huge chunk of the ceiling crushed the ground before them. She instantly stomped on the brakes, but failed to stop them from hitting the rock. The vehicle crashed devastatingly against the giant obstacle, almost throwing Inertia overboard in process and almost killing Hill.

As if the rocks and gods pitied their lives, the collapse of the tunnel stopped. Silence engulfed the destroyed compound as the tremors stopped, long enough for the duo to thank for their lives. Hill and Inertia panted, the latter realising she was almost crushed by a rock beside her. They stared at each other, both conveying the same relieved feeling exploding in their hearts.

"You okay?" Hill asked Inertia, though it seemed to her she was in a direr state. Inertia hazily nodded, watching Loki and his newly recruited henchmen disappearing to the dark road from the cracks of rocks.

Yet through that small gap Inertia could see his eyes glinting in the night, staring at her. _Why did you spare me?_ she thought repeatedly as she leapt out of the dilapidated vehicle.

Hill scowled, slamming her steer, and took a deep breath. She glanced over her shoulder, her mind forced to think of the director and all her comrades. "We are more fortunate than the men back there, that's for certain," Inertia remarked, assuring herself that Coulson had survived the blast. She crackled her knuckles before she pushed the boulder with a terrifying force. But the boulder merely shifted an inch, so she resorted to her weapon and crushed the boulder with a single swing.

The night sky loomed over them like an intimidating bully. Hill was offered with no words after Inertia's demonstration of her powers. She searched for her walkie-talkie, which fortunately survived the ordeal. "Director?" she spoke as they walked out of the tunnel. Inertia lifted her head and gazed at the stars, wondering if the Watcher of the Worlds saw what had happened, saw the man from his man.

Would Thor also notice this upheaval of his brother? And the Tesseract was beyond Earth's capabilities to understand. Perhaps, Inertia deduced, this artefact belonged to Asgard. She wasn't sure whether that was a good or a bad thing.

Her attention shifted to an explosion occurring not far, just a hundred metres from the tunnel exit. Inertia and Hill rushed towards the direction with their remaining strength. A helicopter lay motionless there, completely on fire. Inertia could certainly gamble it was the result of Loki's doing.

 _"The Tesseract is with hostile force. I have men down,"_ Fury's voice said, emerging from the walkie-talkie. " _Hill?"_

"A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors," Hill reported, a hint of pessimism in her voice. But she was almost certain _none_ survived. "Sir, what should we do?"

There was a long pause before Fury finally answered. " _Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase."_

"Roger that," Hill muttered.

" _Coulson, get back to base. This is a LEVEL SEVEN. As of right now, we are at war,"_ Fury added. Inertia wanted to chirp, telling every living personnel that it was beyond their ability to control that Cube. Yet humans were ever so stubborn, she could not understand that.

" _What do we do?"_ Coulson's voice came, much to Inertia's relief. There was another silence for Fury. He had never faced a situation like this.

" _Sir?"_ Inertia asked him. Her voice clicked on a certain buried information inside his mind. Her voice somehow brought him _hope._ He scoffed and then pulled his device closer to his smiling mouth.

"We will assemble the Avengers."

* * *

A/N: Hey there! I am back with another chapter! Hopefully you enjoyed it :) The story begins to move, though the writing progress is very slow. Sorry for that!

Just for your information, Elliot is a legitimate character in MCU. He exists in the tv series, which I will leave you guys to find out because once you've found him, you'll get a hint of Inertia's backstory. And if you do, please don't tell the others because it will spoil the fun!

Anyways, thank you for reading once again this kind of experimental fiction. I hope you like it and if you have any opinions to convey, please review with consideration. Please remember that I am writing this for my own pleasure and improvement :).

See you later!


	5. 0103 Protectors of the Earth

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in MCU or related properties**

"The blast should've killed you."

"Oh? So now I am here, alive and well, and you're expecting me dead. Congratulations, Director Fury, you are officially the worst and merciless human being I've ever encountered."

Fury twitched his brows and Coulson struggled his best not to laugh in the current dire situation. It was endearing to see the latter doing so, lightening the atmosphere. "But really, Inertia. A human would be dead by a single shot, yet you received two," Coulson continued, monitoring Inertia's medic applying her waist a strange balm. He imagined how painful it would have been for him, yet she did not even wince.

Hours ago, after all surviving S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel had gathered, Fury shepherded them to the Helicarrier where the injured were immediately treated. Despite looking alright and generally "unharmed", Coulson and Fury insisted Inertia to be examined. The medical personnel, to their astonishment, found only several cracked bones which healed at a rapid rate. She couldn't tell them, of course, that the rapid recovery was accounted from her inherited blood.

"I am not a normal human, you know that," she explained. The medic had just then finished her treatment, a ruthless one if she were frank. As a matter of fact, she was virtually in pain during her lengthy medical checks. She just didn't convey it to show her resilience, and to conceal her weakness. She glared at the medical personnel, who did not look slightly moved by the number of wounds she had. Instead, he merely raised a brow and moved away from the company—clearly S.H.I.E.L.D. needed some improvements in medical procedures and _behaviour._ Once the doctor had left, she turned to Fury and Coulson. "Now, tell me why you and Fury are here, or I'll throw both of you off the base.

Fury folded her arms nonchalantly. "We are activating again the Avengers Initiative," Fury informed. Inertia straightened her back as she wore her dusted jacket. The program had been abandoned sometime last year due to circumstances unknown to her. She remembered clearly that she had felt deceived when Fury told this, for the reason she had entered S.H.I.E.L.D. was to be part of this secretive team of capable people listed in Avengers. He had not told her many, but several she knew were more capable in their fields.

"And the World Security Council have agreed with this?" Inertia asked, obviously unconvinced. Coulson glanced at Fury suspiciously, and the latter sifted when she spoke the question.

"Well… I do not have their permission yet, but I will handle it," Fury explained so hesitantly Inertia wondered how come he had managed to snatch the position as the director. "The more important thing now is to gather the members with our limited time. We don't know yet what this Loki is planning so we better get started. While I deal with the Council, you and Coulson are going to bring the members in."

"And if you are asking the reason we choose you is… well… because you are capable and available right now. I intended to ask Hill for this, but she clearly dislikes the idea of moving around after crashing to a boulder," Coulson added, fumbling with his hands.

Inertia gritted her teeth in disdain and stood up. "Fine, but you owe me a holiday after all this ends," she said.

"You sure are hopeful," Fury commented. "Which is a good thing, including your cooperation. Agent Coulson will handle Stark, Romanoff, and Banner. They are all in one way so you don't have to confuse yourself with how the hell Coulson would manage all three in a short time."

"Romanoff? She's not going to be impressed with Clint's situation," whispered Inertia thoughtfully.

"Indeed she won't, so I'll take care of it," Coulson continued. "Your job is to bring Steve Rogers here."

Inertia had had enough surprises for the day. It would be cruel for Coulson to give her another astonishment, but he evidently was not joking. She, with her limited social skills, was to escort a former ice-cubed American patriot to S.H.I.E.L.D. as an Avenger—in other words, her new teammate. Not that she disliked him more than Tony or anything—she liked people who believed in their country and discipline.

Steve was certainly not amused when S.H.I.E.L.D. took the Tesseract out of the sea—having lost a friend because of it—which caused her to believe he would break Fury's head into pieces if she gave him the news of the 'robbery'. The thought alone amused and horrified Inertia.

"Yes, sir," she hesitantly said. "I believe Captain Rogers has been informed of this?"

Judging by Coulson's and Fury's visages, she knew the answer. "He has, but not completely," Fury told her," but he won't make any resistance when you come down there, I assure you. I would like to see how he's doing by myself, but I think he will be more willing to come with you instead of me. He clearly doesn't trust me too much."

 _And you think he will trust a complete stranger like me? Good logic, Fury._

"Understood, sir," she nevertheless said. "I will complete the task as ordered. However, remember that you owe me a debt to be covered after this war ends."

"Granted," Fury easily said—it was a small price for her absolute dedication to Earth. She did not need that. She had referred Earth as her own home, and she would not have it destroyed.

Having received her promise, Fury left the room with complete satisfaction. Inertia folded her arms, mustering thoughts on how to usher Rogers. She glowered at Coulson, who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"At least you don't have to deal with a playboy billionaire and a stressful doctor," Coulson reasoned, taking his leave from her. He paused and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, and trust me, Cap is going to be the most reasonable of all our recruits."

"Right," she sighed, swallowing whatever strength she had left.

oOo

Steve Rogers spent another sleepless night in the gym, punching bags mercilessly till their intestinal contents burst out. The exercise, however brutal it seemed, had helped him sooth his restless mind for as long as he could remember. To say being awakened after 70 years of his presumed death a surprise was an understatement. He was ready to enter another death, but reality didn't allow it. Every night he would remember the painful memories which he had almost sunken in the icy ocean, and he remained awake whenever he still had the strength. But being a Super Soldier acted as a double-edged blade.

He had thought he was just having another peaceful night, until the latest punching bag he tore open and threw a meter away stopped abruptly in the middle of the gym. Steve stepped back, half convinced ghosts exist in the modern life.

"It is immoral to demolish whatever training objects provided to you for free," a voice came, from the dark chasm in the gym. Steve instinctively turned around, his body alarmed and his senses sharp. It was completely unusual for someone to be able to sneak behind him.

From the shadows emerged a woman with ominous bronze eyes. She was as pale as the moon, and as tall as him. Never had Steve seen a woman as beautiful and well-built as her before, as if she was a being out of the world.

She was not the usual agent greeting him, that's for sure.

She saw his bemused expression and smirked, dropping the bag hovering in the air as she pulled her hand away. A small breeze blew her ponytailed ashen hair, revealing a face with strong jaws and determined gaze. "Who are you?" Steve asked, studying her from head to toe. "Are you S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"I am a part of it but I don't trust it too much," she explained, kicking the burst bag playfully. "I believe you think of it the same. I am listed in the Avengers Initiative a year ago, but since the initiative was cancelled, I was demoted to an ordinary agent." She paused momentarily, her foot abruptly kicking the punching bag across the gym. It hit the wall with a deafening blast. Steve shuddered slightly.

"I am here to take you to the base," she continued," but you don't look so good."

Steve scoffed, picking another punching bag. "No one will feel too good after spending seventy years in ice," he remarked as he hung it. Trying to ignore the woman, he continued his exercise once more.

"I believe I understand how you feel," she added. "Being put to sleep without your consent and waking up knowing nothing of the new world greeting you. It might be terrifying at first, but adaptation is a fundamental skill in life, especially with our current circumstances."

Steve's fist paused in mid-air. He glanced at the woman casually standing just a metre from him. Her face was grim, like the darkened sky. She was not joking, Steve observed, yet she had said her story as if it was nothing. What had happened to her before this?

Steve would be slightly comforted if she would tell him more about her tale, but judging her visage alone was enough to suppress his curiosity. He sighed and approached the woman, who seemed to loom over him now that they were closer.

"So, you're here for a mission?" he asked. She responded with a mindful nod. "Fury trying to get me in the world?"

"No, but trying to save it," she told him as she pulled out a file from her rucksack. "Fury told me to give this to you."

Steve received the file, which apparently contained information on the Tesseract along with other files on HYDRA's projects. Steve took the picture of the Tesseract and switched to Inertia with questions in mind. "After you drowned in the ocean, Howard Stark found the Tesseract instead of you—which, by the way, was a big mistake. He and S.H.I.E.L.D. thought that Tesseract could be a key to unlimited sustainable energy. They started researching on it…"

"Until someone stole it," Steve deduced. He was utterly correct, though she did not look slightly impressed by his prophetic ability. "Who?"

"An Asgardian called Loki. He is what you call back there, an alien. He arrived through a portal created by the Tesseract's energy, brought a mystical spear, and took the Cube from the facility along with several mind-controlled agents. He killed many men, no doubt, and obviously intends to use the Cube for malicious purposes," she explained, with a pause. "Oh, he has a notorious persona and skilful in his own right. Thus, we need more men to find the Tesseract, which is why I am taking you to the base."

Steve twitched his face, trying to make at least human facial expression after her intense rapping of information, but found himself disabled. "Confused, Rogers? No, this is just a beginning. Once you are ready, I am going to brief you with more surprising information. Though, it seems you are ready for our departure. There's a debriefing package in your apartment, but don't bother reading it; you'll get more information from me on the way. I will be waiting for you in the jet."

Inertia nodded before Steve could react. She whistled as she walked away from the room casually. "Wait a minute—"

"Oh, right," she interrupted, turning around. "Do you know anyting else useful about the Tesseract?"

Steve somehow found himself producing a relieved smile. He chuckled then and closed the file folder in his grasp. "One thing: you should have left it in the ocean."

oOo

An hour later, faster than she had expected, Steve Rogers arrived with his bag at the grass field where Inertia's jet was parked. He saluted her like a soldier to superior when he saw her head sprouting from the cockpit, and she saluted him in return. Once convinced he was not merely joking with his decision, she turned on her jet and opened the hatch, letting the soldier in. Steve entered the plane with the same hesitation he had had ever since he left his apartment. The solid metal behind him instantly slammed shut and the aircraft departed. Steve put down his bag and approached the cockpit, not surprised to find only her controlling the plane.

"Sorry to interrupt but," Steve said as he leaned his body so she could hear him. "Who are you again?"

"I call myself the first Newton's Law," Inertia curtly answered. Steve formed a confused expression furtively. "It's Inertia! I-NER-TIA! I thought you have learnt _Physics_ in school!"

"Physics is not exactly my strong area," Steve retorted back, returning to his seat. "Nice to meet you."

Not wanting to disturb his escort further, Steve slumped to a seat. The jet flew through the sky like a supersonic bird, heading to S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. There was no more words exchanged between them, except for her briefing the soldier—Steve knew she was the quiet yet frightening type—until Inertia's voice blasted through the speakers above him.

"We have arrived," Inertia announced. The aircraft slowly descended, landing on a platform with several loud thumps. Not like he was phobic of flying, but the adrenaline during its landing reminded him of several unfortunate events in his life—one which brought him to a deep sleep. The plane screeched to a halt and immediately his pilot unstrapped her seatbelt, simultaneously opening the plane's door. Steve was welcomed with a platform full of planes and soldiers running to and fro. He looked impressed and horrified by the massive base he was standing on, wondering to what extend Fury was hiding S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities from him.

"Get off," she barked behind him. Steve jolted forward and landed on the solid steel surface, almost tumbling. The ocean wind blasted him like a cannon, and he saw the endless sea filling his vision.

Steve turned around to accuse the woman, but the culprit just shrugged her shoulders. She hopped off her plane, landing softly without making a sound, and glanced around. "Welcome to the Helicarrier, Rogers," she said. Coulson and Natasha were approaching them, the latter's face far from happy.

"Steve Rogers, meet Agent Romanoff," introduced Inertia. Natasha extended her hand and shook Roger's tense hands, her face slightly unfriendly. Natasha crinkled an awkward smile before she pulled her hand away. Inertia greeted Natasha with a silent nod, sending a look of outmost apology to the woman. She, to be expected, did not even look sympathetic, perhaps because she herself was annoyed by Clint's recklessness. He might as well _deserve_ it.

"How's Stark?" Inertia asked out of curiosity.

"It went well, for my standards," confessed Coulson, wincing. Behind him, Natasha shook her head. "Anyways, nice to meet you again, Rogers. They need me in the bridge, so I will leave Captain Rogers with you two. He seemed beguiled," Coulson said lastly as he left them. Inertia saw Coulson vaguely tottering as his figure disappeared to the inner base. She and Natasha smirked.

"You might not know it, Rogers, but Coulson is a great fan of you. You should see his marvellous collection of Captain America trading cards," Inertia explained as she and Natasha walked away. Steve stuttered behind them, following like a duckling tailing its mother. "They're vintage. He's very proud of them," Natasha added. Steve tried to avert his attention from the two women, constantly scrutinising the nearest aircrafts.

Natasha halted when she saw Banner, who strolled awkwardly among the numerous tense personnel. Banner identified Natasha from afar and immediately his face lit up with relief. Promptly he skipped towards the group and arrived before them, panting. Inertia observed him, the notorious doctor caging a monstrous entity inside.

"Dr Banner?" Steve guessed, shaking the man's hand. Banner quirked a smile nervously.

"Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming," Banner stammered. He turned to Inertia and shook her hands excitedly. She blinked, perplexed, for never had anyone been so exhilarated to encounter her. She forced a small smile to ease his anxiety. "They told me about you too. Inertia, huh? Your powers are interesting."

She fluttered her eyes once more. Now here was an innocent man, who, not like many, praised her powers—which, as a matter of fact, she slightly disliked. "Well, thank you," she said curtly, studying him further. It seemed they were more alike than they thought, having unwanted powers which could destroy and save others.

"Word is, you can find the cube," Steve said. Banner looked bemused.

"Is that the only word on me?" Banner scoffed, though his face was not amused.

"Only word I care about," Steve answered. Banner forced another smile at Steve's compliment and glanced around. Inertia studied the existing members of the Avengers. They would, unfortunately, start as a wrecked team. Such a strange combination Fury had brewed for a team tasked to protect the plant from an alien invasion. Not to mention, if they were lucky—or perhaps unfortunate—a billionaire playboy would join their fray.

"Gentlemen, you wanna step inside a miute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe," Natasha instructed. The two men were disoriented as the Helicarrier started trembling. Steve and Banner looked towards the sea, seeing invisible engines roaring and swirling the raging waters. Banner twitched his face in horror.

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked.

"Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurised metal container?" exclaimed Banner. Inertia, knowing his implications, produced a stiff visage.

"No, but a flying gigantic metal container," Inertia corrected. Steve and Banner looked at each other before they realised the truth behind her words. Four gigantic fans emerged from the waters, buzzing in the air like four soldier bees. The four engines slowly lifted the base into the air, startling the newcomers to the roots of their bravery. Banner chuckled madly as he observed the machinations presented before him.

"Oh, no. This is much worse," Banner huffed as the base hovered higher into the atmosphere. Around them, agents began wearing their masks and tugging the planes safe onto the surface.

"You don't seem well," Inertia chuckled. "Follow me. You can no longer breathe here."

Steve and Banner gladly followed her without taking their eyes off the diminishing Earth. Inertia and Natasha brought them to the bridge, where Nick Fury and Coulson stood and watched the scene before them transitioning. Steve wandered around the room, marvelling the advanced technology brimming his view, and constantly gazed to the computers with a strange smile carved on his face. Banner, meanwhile, glanced warily at the standing guards and any armed agents. Inertia examined Banner's behaviour furtively, and approached him.

"Don't worry. I can easily throw you off-board if _it_ shows up," assured her. He widened his eyes in horror, but said a small gratitude under his breath.

"We are at level, sir," reported Hill.

"Good," he said. "Let's vanish."

Gradually the Helicarrier disappeared into thin air, veiled by its numerous cloaking engines. Steve stepped closer to the window, almost gasping when he saw no more of the runways. _Another miracle of technology,_ Steve mused. Leaving Steve in his own fantasies, Fury turned to Inertia.

"I told you he's easy to bring," Fury said, tapping Inertia's shoulder. "Though, Stark is not really persuaded by the idea."

"As expected," Inertia muttered, heaving a deep breath. She turned to Natasha, still frowning as she drowned herself in deep thought. "I am sorry for Barton. I couldn't save him with all the chaos ensuing back then."

"For starters, he's an idiot. Getting him back will be easy," Natasha sighed. "Defeating the enemy, this Loki guy, and defending Earth is our priority. I won't give a shit if Clint tries to shoot us, or the other way around. We have to do whatever necessary to stop this Asgardian."

"Right, even if getting yourself blasted twice," Inertia said, much to Natasha's surprise. "He got this staff which controls and kills people… Well, I'll tell you about it later."

"So, uh… How long am I staying?" asked Banner restlessly.

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear. The others, they have more to do," Fury answered, though Banner did not look convinced. "Speaking of which, where are you with that?"

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cellphones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us," Coulson explained, placing himself next to an agent.

"That's still not gonna find them in time," Natasha added.

"And there's Barton," Inertia continued," He knows almost every move S.H.I.E.L.D. tends to make. It's going to be _really_ difficult to track."

"You have to narrow the field," Banner suggested, walking to the nearest computer. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Fury said. Banner looked unimpressed.

"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays," Banner rapped. "I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr Banner to his laboratory, please," Fury ordered. Natasha nodded and guided Banner to his new lab, leaving Inertia alone in the bridge. Silently, as she waited, she ran the different possibilities of Loki's intentions in her head. He would without doubt use the Tesseract to conquer, or destroy, Earth, but she lacked the knowledge to think of any solid possibilities. She was really tempted to phone Elliot in his university and ask, but it would certainly reveal his existence even with S.H.I.E.L.D. now having its hands full.

In the end, she did nothing but wait for further orders, watching the crews busying themselves with their computers. The sun slowly disappeared and the sky darkened. Stars appeared in the darkness, reminding her constantly of the Watcher of Worlds and her old home. Elliot used to take her stargazing at night, occasionally whispering his sad past and stories beyond the world they were living in. He might be a hard man, but he was soft and kind in his own ways.

Brushing away those memories, she walked to Coulson, who was running facial recognition for Loki and Clint. "You are going to run a facial recognition for an Asgardian?" Inertia blurted. "I doubt it will result well. I've read that some Asgardians are sorcerers. They can conjure illusions, perhaps."

"Well, you've been reading so much," Coulson said in wonder. "However, if what you are saying is true, our chance in finding Clint or the Tesseract—"

Coulson stopped abruptly when Steve appeared behind them. "So, are you as confused as me when you awakened from you sleep?" he asked. Coulson leaned an ear towards his protégé, seeking to find more about her mysterious past.

"Well, to say bluntly, no. I am much younger when I woke up, so I was still clueless and innocent of the world," she explained, glaring at Coulson. "But I've slept longer than you and I got 48 years to adjust myself."

"You're 48 years old?" Steve gasped. "You must be lying. You don't even look 30!"

"Thank you for your compliment," she said, worry slightly tingling her heart. Had she said too much of her past? "Speaking of age… Coulson here, despite so late in age, is still collecting your cards. You might want to sign on them."

"Hey—" Coulson protested with his gentle voice. Inertia chuckled as he coughed in embarrassment. He turned his gaze away from Steve, who was again struck with incomprehensible shock. "I mean, if it's not too much trouble," muttered Coulson hesitantly.

Inertia burst into a small laugher, hiding her face. Steve chuckled slightly. He must remind himself that in fact he was older than this man. "No, no. It's fine. People tend to admire some things even when they're older," Steve reasoned. "Though… your fascination of me is really… fascinating."

"Well, of course it is," Inertia intervened before Coulson could speak. Coulson silently sent her a message to shut up, but she insisted. "It's a vintage set he has collected for years. _Complete set._ He's obsessed with it and particularly careful. I've seen him cleaning the cards with all the care and love—"

A loud beep shattered their brief joyful moment. The three looked up to the screen, where Loki's face was clearly displayed. He appeared exactly like he had been back in the research facility, which surprised her dearly for she was sure he had tried to conceal himself with his magic. She scampered to the screen, pondering his suspicious act.

"Well, that's unexpected," Coulson said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Location?"

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding," Agent Sitwell reported, slightly mocking Inertia's deductions. "What is he doing there, though?"

"Something we hope won't happen," Coulson said, turning to Steve and Inertia. "Captain, Inertia, you're up."

"Yes, Sir," Inertia said, grabbing her staff. Her heart thudded as she exited the room. There was apprehension and excitement pumping her spirit; the fear that she would encounter one of the few beings capable of matching her strength, and the excitement to confront someone she could call equal. Someone who, unlike many others, somehow showed sympathy towards her. Did he know something she didn't?

"Why are you so excited for this?" Steve asked as he tailed her. Inertia faked a smile, flipping her staff playfully.

"I have some scores to settle."

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! First of all, I am so very sorry for not being able to post very frequently. Things are hard at school right now, especially with many projects AND the mid-year exams coming up. As such, I have not been able to dedicate some of my time to writing this fic, since I have _no_ free time or whatsoever. Therefore, please forgive me and bear with me just for a while. By June I will have more free time since I am going back home, so only then can I speed up the progress of the story.

Btw, Infinity War is coming at the end of April and I am still in the first Avengers movie (Sigh).

Anyhow, thank you for reading this fic. Hope you enjoy it and leave reviews if you wish to!


	6. 0104 Another Encounter

He could see the fear in their eyes. It was not unusual for people to see him as a frightening being. He had groomed himself to be so, had indoctrinated himself that other people's fear was his amusement. Yet, with every second passing by, and with each moment his plan went smoothly, an indescribable apprehension loomed over him. He warily looked around, searching for her face in the crowd. The face of the only being on Earth who could rival his power. He swore he had seen her before, perhaps back in New Mexico, but he was unsure.

Stuttgart museum fell into an unsettling silence as Loki walked around with the sceptre, fully cladded in his armour. All attention was on him, and he forced a smirk. At the very least, his henchmen would be provided enough time to break into the facility. Once that had been done, his role in this place would be over. Captured or not, it wouldn't matter. His aim was never to escape from S.H.I.E.L.D., after all.

As he glowered at the cowering audience, he pondered of his current state. These people were kneeling like they were supposed to, under his power and authority. It was a feeling he had not felt for some time, having spent a very long time in an endless abyss. It was at that time that he truly felt loneliness he had always feared.

Is my fate to be alone forever? To be despised by all beings including my brother?

"Is this not simpler?" he asked, diverting his mind away from his stray thoughts. This was the task at hand. "Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

He ended his statement with a terse voice. His words echoed in the air. Loki grinned slightly, the enjoyment of authority returning to his soul. But one of his hostages—an old German—rose from the ground. Loki frowned, for he did not see fear reflected on the elderly's eyes—but resistance instead.

"Not to men like you," the elderly said sternly.

"There are no men like me," Loki hissed back. The German did not give up, remaining on his ground.

"There are always men like you," he retorted. Loki scoffed and lifted his spear.

"Look at your elder, people. Let him be example," Loki announced as he channelled energy to the sceptre. Mercilessly, he fired a blast to kill the old man. He remained unmoved, standing firm on his ground and ready to face his inevitable death.

Until, a man with a shield arrived in front of him, deflecting the blast Loki had just sent. Loki was struck by his own attack, thrown several metres back and tumbling. He grunted and immediately stood back up, glaring eye to eye with this newfound enemy. Steve Rogers stood brave with his shield, studying the Asgardian everyone had told him about. Loki scowled; the last thing he wanted in his plan was, other than that women, the noisy patriot.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing," Steve said, his appearance sparking hope within the audience and urging them to flee. Loki finally recognised this man, who he had seen somewhere in the databases Clint had shown him.

"The soldier. A man out of time," acknowledged Loki. Steve shrugged.

"I'm not the one who's out of time," Steve said, before ducking from Loki's sight. Loki was greeted by a metallic staff flying straight to his head. It hit his helmet before he could even dodge. It tossed him to the ground and pulled away. He groaned and growled, for he had seen the staff before.

His eyes met cold bronze eyes. Her pale figure glimmered under the moonlight as it approached Steve.

"Greetings," she said. Loki stood up, rubbing his head furiously.

"Why, hello," he hissed. Above him, a quinjet drifted with its machine guns pointing at the Asgardian.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," warned Natasha, though she knew too well he would now. Loki glanced at Inertia, before he chuckled. He sent a beam of energy to the plane. Natasha having heard his often surprising actions from Inertia, managed to manoeuvre the plane and evaded the attack.

Steve did not waste more time watching idly and threw his shield at his enemy. Loki dodged it immediately, letting the shield merely graze his helmet. Steve caught his weapon and charged at Loki head on. Loki stepped back with a smirk and immersed himself into the crowd.

Inertia followed behind Steve, easily identifying the Asgardian in his glorious armour. Steve promptly sprinted to Loki whilst Inertia flanked him from the right. Steve emerged from the sea of people and swung his shield, but his opponent was as fast as an Asgardian and evaded all his attacks in ease. He struck Steve's abdomen with his spear, blasting him away.

Inertia emerged from the sea of humans, swinging her staff towards Loki's head. But her weapon merely hit empty air, for Loki's figure suddenly dissipated into dust. She cursed, glancing around. The crowd was now dispersing, fortunately for her, yet when she finally found him, she saw more than on enemy standing in her way.

Ten figures of Loki surrounded her, spear ready to pierce her skin. She pulled her staff closer, observing each and every one of his illusions. Loki mused, wondering whether she was intelligent enough to identify his real image.

"This, is truth," said Loki, his voices emerging as a chorus. "None can see through lies and truths. Everything looks the same to all of you humans."

Inertia froze. He could see her muscle loosening, as if she became relaxed by his speech.

"What is truth?" she said, her back turned away from him. "One does not need eyes to learn the truth."

He saw the fierce flash of her eyes as a great shockwave emanated from her body. His mirages were blown dead, and his real body was thrown to the air. She twisted her body and twirled her staff, hitting Loki with another blast of force. Loki fell to the ground, breaking the cement in process.

She's more powerful than I've expected, he protested as he jumped back to his feet. Inertia was now dashing towards him, not sparing any time for him to breathe. She missed him in the last seconds and shook the ground with her staff, almost causing him another fall. He shifted his weight and almost stabbed her back again using his spear, but it appeared she had learnt much from their previous battle. She rolled forward and kicked the spear with a bone-breaking force. The spear leapt to the air, twirling before it pierced the ground afar.

Loki held his breath as he miraculously sent Inertia to the air. She widened her eyes, aghast by his newfound power. He too, wondered over this offensive magic, for he was not a sorcerer who choose to use offensive spells to fight enemies.

He saw her crashing the ground in a series of rolls and heard her grimace. Blood oozed from a deep cut on her forehead. Why is she still alive despite being hurt so much?

Not a moment later she struggled back up once more, heaving heavily. Loki rearmed himself with his spear. "Just how far do you wish to go to stop me?" he challenged the woman.

She did not answer, instead ready to attack him once more. But as she did so, Steve had regained his senses and rushed towards Loki. He threw his shield at the same time, only to see it deflected by the Asgardian. Steve did not stop despite him being unarmed and attacked Loki bravely with his fists. With a smile, Loki disappeared from Steve's vicinity.

"What—" Steve blurted when a kick struck his back, sending him down the stairs of the museum. Loki chuckled as he trailed down, threatening the soldier with his weapon.

"Kneel," Loki ordered. Before he could receive an answer, however, Inertia had appeared beside him and swung her weapon against his hips. Loki leapt backwards, concealing himself with magic and teleporting behind her. Inertia gritted her teeth and, as if knowing his intentions, turned to block Loki's spear. He grinned, amused by her upgrade in knowledge.

Above, Natasha's quinjet hovered once more. Inertia locked her gaze with him, her strength equalling his. "More will come. It is best you give up now," Inertia whispered, her voice so clear despite the ongoing commotion.

"Well, isn't it noble to bring an army against one?" Loki mocked as he pushed her down. She supported herself on one knee, clearly outpowered by his strength. It seemed that she was not as strong as it appeared. "Give up."

"You're not going to face an army," she said. Loki scowled and disarmed her with his spear. Inertia pushed him back with her powers, posing her fists in exchange of her weapons. "And I don't need a weapon."

Loki's scowl faded as she charged towards him. She launched her fists in an alarming rate, never sparing a second for him to breathe and think. Loki was pushed back step after step as he tried to evade all her attacks. The air was split as she tried to land her last kick, followed by a menacing sound of blast. Loki shuddered back, for now he realised she was not only relying on her physical traits in fighting.

Loki spun his spear and aimed at her, turning the tide of battle. Inertia dodged every single attack he gave gracefully. In the midst of this, Steve threw his shield and it hit Loki's head accurately. Loki cursed internally, not realising that Inertia had dashed across their battlefield for her weapon. Upon touching her fingers, the staff burst into three floating rods. They hovered behind her like the circle of samsara, and she threw each of them like mindful arrows punishing him of his vanity. Steve received his shield and threw it once more, not giving him a chance to escape.

With his mind unable to concentrate on the projectiles threatening him, he once more failed to notice Inertia running towards him. Her three rods followed her hands, reassembling as she arrived in front of him. One, defining staff burnt Loki's abdomen as a battle cry followed suit, and the Asgardian felt his body hovering in the skies for a split second before he crashed the ground with a series of rolls, his spear leaving him.

As he flew in the air, his thoughts ran as fast as the wind. Instinctively he took his knife and prepared to retaliate once more as his body dropped to the ground. Yet it was too late, for Inertia had stood above him, pacing her staff on his neck. "Do not move. It is futile," she said, her breaths calming down. "Retaliate and you will suffer worse."

The Asgardian was left with little words and thoughts. He could not form the intense hatred that had driven him so far through his eyes as he studied the woman. She looked back at him, her gaze showing something far different from what he had expected.

Inertia stood there, unmoved, as her staff remained on his neck. The blood running down her grazed forehead had dissipated, leaving only trace path of scarlet. The wound had healed completely, leaving not even a scar. As if she had not suffered from it at all. As he stared at this miracle, he also studied her features. What had he perceived as terse and unsettling was a gentle face with elegant beauty, one he had never found before.

"Who… are you?" whispered Loki, his voice out of fascination rather than bemusement.

She widened her eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked, out of confusion, for the intense hatred and insane glee had disappeared from his visage, leaving only a broken being seeking help. There was sadness in him she could not comprehend, something shaking her mental tranquillity.

Inertia was about to say a word, until something flew above them. She looked up, watching Iron Man lowering slowly next to her. "It seems you've got the situation under control," Tony said, landing beside the woman. Inertia rolled her eyes, grateful and disappointment of the man's arrival, and saw Steve running towards them. "Good, move," he told Loki, whose expression immediately changed when the man spoke. Inertia flinched.

Tony turned to Inertia, who still held her staff tight. He took a second to observe her. "You alright?" he asked. He had heard about the woman from Coulson being fearless and strong, yet somehow currently she seemed defenceless.

"I guess your score is settled then," Steve said. He did not look as strong as many had described, the soldier thought as he stared at Loki, though his defeat now was thanks to the woman's otherworldly abilities. If, as he had heard, this Loki came from Asgard, there was a large chance she did not come from Earth as well.

"Rogers," Inertia breathed, "meet Stark. I know you two know each other."

"Good to see you," Tony said emptily. Steve nodded, picking Loki's sceptre from the floor. "Romanoff, get the jet here."

"Roger," Natasha replied, manoeuvring her jet to the trio, and lowering it down as Tony bound Loki with handcuffs which he hoped would be strong enough to prevent him from running amok. If he was to escape, however, Tony knew there would be a stronger chain which could prevent him from escaping. He opened his helmet as they entered the quinjet which landed not a second later, stealing glances from the patriot beside him. Steve did not stay idle, observing Tony from the corners of his eyes.

Inertia herded Loki into the quinjet, her mind still bothered by his previous facial expression. He remained silent as she gestured him to take a seat, sending an unpleasant look towards Tony and Steve. Once he sat, Inertia flipped her staff and leaned on the walls of the vehicle.

"You fine?" asked Steve when he saw her staring blankly to the floor. His eyes brightened and he looked at the sceptre he was holding. "Wait, don't tell me the spear is affecting you."

Inertia blinked. "No, it cannot affect me, I think. To control someone, its edge must touch the person's heart, I believe. Considering my powers, my mind is shielded more than humans."

"Then are you not human?" shot Steven abruptly. Before he could continue, the quinjet left the ground, swaying his footing and almost causing him to tumble. Inertia stepped forward and supported him, straightening his body. Steve coughed when he looked eye to eye with the woman.

"I do not meddle much with your past and you will not with mine," Inertia calmly told him. "However, my past will not be pleasant to hear."

At this Loki's interest was drawn. "And why is that?" he blurted in a whisper. Inertia turned towards him.

"It is none of your business, all of your business," she reiterated.

"Careful," Loki continued, now staring. "When you keep those secrets away, they will only become your worst nightmare."

Inertia froze, gripping her fingers tightly. "Be silent or I'll shoot your head," threatened Tony. "Of course, unless you humbly give us some information regarding your plan."

Loki scoffed, glaring at the businessman. Thunders in the sky above broke the group's tense moment, for the plane shook the plane slightly as it flew through the clouds. Natasha looked up, peering through the glass windows. Another thunder shook the plane, this time gaining the attention of the other woman.

"Agent Romanoff?" Natasha's headphone buzzed. "Report?"

"We've seized the target," reported Natasha to Fury. "He has not said anything useful to us." She glanced over her shoulder where silence continued among the passengers. "Though, his presence is not exactly welcomed here."

"Fine. Just get him here and we'll make him talk. We're low on time," Fury said again, before the headphones turned dead silent. Natasha sighed, noticing Inertia joining her company. Loki silently observed her as she approached the pilot. Another thunder flashed in the clouds, tremoring the plane.

Inertia looked at Natasha, cautions carved on their eyes, for the journey would certainly not be as fast and as unobstructed as they had hoped. Steve meanwhile continued to scrutinise Loki, and Tony noticed this. "Just speak up," Tony ordered.

"Well, as far as Inertia had told me, this guy fights well," Steve whispered. "He managed to kill several agents in a matter of minutes. This seems to easy."

"Maybe it's because our lady's amazing abilities," Tony chuckled, receiving a sharp glance from her. He stopped laughing when another thunder cracked in the skies, harsher and stronger than before. He joined Inertia and Natasha looking through the window to the clouds above, crackling with electricity and flashes. "Well, that's an annoying thunder. Sure you're alright, Romanoff?"

"The jet won't fall down or anything… but this thunder bothers me. Where's this coming from?" Natasha said as she continued to watch the flashes. The quinjet was designed to withstand strong impacts and storms, but its durability became doubted as more thunders appeared. Inertia furrowed her brows and returned to Loki, who eyed the skies with fearful eyes.

"What's the matter? Scared of little lightning?" Steve mocked.

"I am not overly fond of what follows," Loki answered slowly. He glanced at Inertia. "You know what's going to happen."

It was at this moment that his suspicions of her true identity were confirmed, for her next words were not filled with hesitation. "These thunders… are unusual," she said as she cautiously took her weapon.

"You were there, in New Mexico," Loki remarked.

"Shush," she commanded before a blinding thunder hit the jet and swayed them off their footing. Steve swore he heard Inertia cursing in another language before something landed on top of the aircraft. Loki shifted restlessly, leaning away from the hatch.

"What is that?" Natasha asked, balancing the plane once more. "Stark?"

"We'll soon find out," Tony said as he equipped his helmet. Its eyes shone white and Tony walked towards the hatch, leaving Inertia and Steve with their captive.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked, taking his shield.

"Wait, Stark. Don't open the—"

Tony had pressed the button and opened the hatch. A man immediately landed on the platform, a hammer in his hand and a cape flapping over his shoulders. Steve gaped at the large, Nordic man standing before them. The stranger stood up and scanned the company, before his eyes landed on Loki's shadowy figure.

"Oh my," Loki murmured. Inertia shared the same thought as she raised her staff in defence. Thor Odinson had just landed on their plane, his face furious and determined at the same time. She was sure his arrival was not for a poor intention, but his actions next would be another problem. Tony saw this guest as a threat and immediately aimed at him.

"Stark, don't!" Inertia shouted, but Tony was struck by Mjolnir first. Tony was instantly launched towards the cockpit, hitting the vacant pilot's seat. Thor turned to Loki, but was obstructed by Inertia's tall figure. She put her staff and blocked his path, glaring at the Asgardian.

"Thor, no," Inertia said gently. Thor instantly recognised her face, halting his pace. He should have remembered her. "I know you need to take your brother, but now we need him. This doesn't have to get messy, not when I am here," she advised softly. Thor raised an eyebrow and pondered.

But a moment later, his face darkened.

"I too have my duties, Inertia," Thor curtly said before he suddenly knocked her to the floor. She gasped as Thor took his brother with him, flying away from the aircraft with intense speed.

"Did… he… just… punch me?" Inertia growled as she jumped to her feet. "I thought, hopelessly thought, we are comrades."

"Now that he's taken our man, he's not really your friend anymore," Tony briskly said. "If he frees or kills him, the Tesseract is lost." Without further thought, he promptly jumped off on his own, flying towards the ground. Inertia sighed and immediately grabbed a parachute, glancing at the transfixed Steve and Natasha.

"He's only taking his brother to Asgard again, that's all," Inertia muttered hastily, a hint of anger running in her voice. "I am going to get Loki while Stark deals with Thor. Natasha, I am going to report the location once I've found him, hopefully, and Rogers… Stay here if you don't want to die." Inertia glared at him before she jumped from the plane, as fast Thor and Tony had left them. Steve parted his lips, before shutting them altogether.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha advised him. Steve huffed and shook his head, finally understanding the world he was thrown in was completely different than the one he had lived before.

"I don't see how I can," Steve said, taking another parachute and jumping to the dark clouds.

oOo

As she hovered in the skies with her parachute, Inertia glimpsed the intense battle ensuing between Tony and Thor. She would surely interrupt the brawl if it wasn't for another matter: finding their captive and seizing him once more. Her eyes quickly searched for a figure among the dense forest as she continued to descend. Not far, she could hear Thor throwing his mighty towards Tony, who seemed to be teased by his action. The tranquil forest immediately erupted into a frightening battlefield, with Thor overpowering Tony at first. Inertia rolled her eyes, shouting words of curses silently which were dedicated towards the warrior of iron and knight of thunder.

She finally found her target, sitting on a ledge not far from the battlefield and watching the intense match unfolding. She furrowed her brows, continuously questioning his intentions for not escaping with his chance and landed not far from his location. Applying force on her feet, she made a high jump before she landed behind Loki, who jolted when he heard her body meeting the earth. He turned around, eyes no longer amused, and gaped at her.

"Loki of Asgard, I am taking you back to custody," Inertia announced as she pulled him off the ground. He staggered, but her firm grip prevented any chance of him tumbling away. "Natasha, I've found Loki. Head south, to where chaos is located. You'll find me close."

"Roger," Natasha responded. Inertia nodded and glared at her captive. Seeing that his handcuffs had been destroyed by Thor, she took a spare from her pocket, and bound the Asgardian once more. His skin felt colder than she had expected, yet it somehow did not bother her. Loki did not resist her efforts, merely watching her intently as she did so.

"Look," she muttered, drawing a deep breath. "You can say something to me now about your plan or you can say it back on the base, after Fury put hell through you."

"Hell? I prefer the word useless chatters," Loki mocked. "Only I know what is hell, and what is pain. None can stop me from continuing, human. Whatever pain the world has to over, I can bear with it."

"Then, were you in pain when you first arrived here?" she whispered. She glanced away from him, towards the battlefield. "I could see the darkness beneath your eyes, the pale of your skin… As if you had been hiding for too long, under the constraints of a tyrant."

Loki shuddered. Was this the reason of her sympathising look back then? "Such speculations are unreasonable. You should never judge a book by its cover."

"I do not, not even now," she retorted surely. "What happened before you appeared in the facility? What happened back in New Mexico? You were once a God of Mischief, the ally of Odin and Thor. What changed your side to this?"

"Is it important now?" Loki hissed, suddenly pulling her hand which had held his handcuffs. "Is it important that my past matters what I am doing now? You have no idea what I've been through, human. I've been through betrayal, lies, and torture. So what if I were the God of Mischief? That title is now a shameful name!"

"I know you are hiding your past, and so am I," Inertia whispered, her voice unwavering. "I believe that you were once good, Loki. There is always a story behind each evil. You're not evil. I can see that."

"Then you are wrong," Loki muttered coldly. Inertia pursed her lips and pulled herself away from him. What had she said just now? Of course he had every reason to destroy Earth, for he was the so-called 'villain' in their story. Yet, why had she felt the other way round? As if there was another evil behind all of this.

"Since you have no further information for me, I shall hand you in now," she informed him. He did not respond, merely staring into the starry skies. Even now, he looked no more than an ordinary lonely warrior. Inertia pulled Loki towards the battlefield. Her face grimed as she wondered whether the silence which greeted them upon arrival was a poor sign of good one. The battle should not have ended so easily, not when the two of them were equally stubborn and hot-headed.

"HEY! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Steve shouted, from the distance. Inertia let out a relieved sigh, grateful that the soldier had managed to outrun her. She quickened her pace and pulled Loki, who seemed reluctant to meet his brother once more. She halted when she discovered Steve, standing on a ledge and looking down at Tony and Thor, who were slapped silent after the soldier's order. "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here," Steve continued at Thor, catching his just-thrown shield.

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor retorted hastily. "To protect Midgard and Asgard, he must come with me!"

"You're not protecting Midgard, you are destroying it you fool," Inertia grumbled aggressively as she arrived in the scene. She blared a sharp gaze to both Thor and Tony, who were rendered like children under her authority. "Don't you two see? Look around you. What part of this is saving the Earth?" she added.

Thor and Tony studied their surroundings. No more were the trees which had once grown around them, for they had fallen and had been burnt. Branches sprawled across the battlefield, like corpses waiting for a mass funeral. Craters and crushed stones laid around them as a consequence of Tony's weapons and Mjolnir's impacts.

"Oops," muttered Tony, and Thor winced. It was surprising how heroes who had been saving Earth had just realised the outcome of their petty battle—to their surroundings and to themselves, for there was a single disdained woman waiting to crush them.

"And while you fight like children, I am the only one doing my job. Hell, you just left Loki to wander around unguarded. Fortunately and suspiciously, he didn't move from his spot," she explained. "Thor, if you want to help Midgard, then at least follow our procedures here, respect our ways. You'll be given your chance later when Loki has told us something and when the Tesseract has been recovered," Inertia continued, her tone surprisingly gentle.

"He is planning on something," Thor said.

"I know he's planning on something," Inertia snapped. "Look, if you try anything ridiculous again, I swear you will end up like the trees. You too Stark."

"Yes, ma'am," Tony promised immediately. Thor rolled his eyes and finally lowered his hammer, apparently remembering the shameful event which had happened a year ago. He could never forget how she threw him off ground with her abilities, rendering him puny for a complete five minutes, as she glowered at him with her blazing irises; he still remembered Coulson laughing from a distance. It was a memorable lesson.

"Great. Finally we are done," Steve sighed, wiping his forehead from sweat. "Let's return to the jet. We have a villain to escort."

"And I pray for you all," Inertia added. "Hopefully Natasha doesn't kill you once we arrive there."

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone! I am back and here I am battered because of exhaustion after the exams which I am so certain I won't pass. So, instead of worrying that certainty, I would rather publish another chapter of this fic and continue on with the story. AND GUYS I HAVEN'T WATCHED INFINITY WAR I AM SO ASHAMED OF MYSELF ESPECIALLY SINCE I THINK I KNOW WHAT LOKI'S FATE GOING TO BE HAAAAAHHHH

So yeah I haven't watched Infinity War by the time this one is published, but I think I know what's going to happen... But I am going to continue this fic, since Loki's fate might be changed here. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to leave your thoughts :) Sorry for not publishing so soon.


	7. 0105 Secret Conversations

Fury had been waiting for them when they returned to the Helicarrier. Unfortunately for them, Natasha had reported everything which had happened to the director, including the gruesome battle between Tony and Thor and Inertia's harsh reprimands on their actions. Like grounded children, Tony and the Asgardian arrived, having just lectured continuously by Natasha on their way back to the base.

"Tony, you are having such a good time to be alive, don't you?" Fury mocked, his frown never leaving his face.

"I know I shouldn't have freed you back there," Coulson said to Thor with a queer smile. The two merely glanced away. Inertia and Natasha sighed, watching Fury and Coulson applying silent detentions for the two. It was understandable after all which had just happened. First and foremost, they could have lost the most dangerous prisoner on Earth if not for Loki cunningly remaining stationary. Secondly, the eco-groups would certainly protest for the recent forestry damages they had just made.

"We are going to have a really _long_ talk," Fury declared. "After… I settle the business with this Loki guy." Thor sighed audibly, clearly disagreeing his decision and the fact that he was forced to wait, but he did not say another word. Loki slyly formed a friendly smile when he met the Director's gaze. "And you, Asgardian, are going to have a talk with me."

Loki looked over Fury's shoulder, wondering if what Inertia had said was true, about the infamous interrogation. Inertia closed her eyes and turned away as he was shepherded away from her vicinity, much to her relief—not that she was utterly uncomfortable with his presence or anything, but Thor's constant murderous intent whenever Loki's around unsettled her.

"I think we better go to Banner, see if he has anything on the Tesseract or the sceptre," Inertia suggested to the Asgardian and Tony, out of benevolence to the poor sods. They shared the same look of agreement, sighing in relief once Fury disappeared from their sight. Coulson did not allot the same look, though he said nothing more.

"Fine, I'll leave the introductions to yourself," Coulson finally spoke. "Just to remind you, you are going to be a team in this one. Hopefully, you find a good chemistry with one another." Coulson pursed his lips at his last sentence before he left the two silently.

Natasha smirked and Inertia folded her arms, glaring at Tony and Thor. "Well? What are we waiting for?" quipped Tony, breaking the tense silence. He casually strolled away, whistling as if nothing in the world mattered. Steve watched the man with distaste.

"I should tell you, I don't think I will cooperate well with this man," Steve confessed to Inertia.

"Same," she whispered back. "But why are you telling _me_ this, out of all people?" Inertia continued. Never had a person trusted her so quick in her life, neither had she. Steve shrugged.

"You keep your secrets well. I think you can keep others' better," Steve reasoned, rather out of context, before he followed Tony deeper into the base. Inertia stepped closer towards Thor.

"He's up to something," she whispered.

"He's always up to something," Thor replied, his voice strained. "That's why he's not safe in Midgard."

"This is mankind's problem. Whether fond of it or not, S.H.I.E.L.D. must handle it," she told him. "Afterwards, you can settle your problems with your brother. Anyway, what actually is that sceptre?" She pressured the last word.

"I've never seen him wielding it either," Thor answered. "He… fell into endless abyss, literally, during our last brotherly fight."

"I advise you to tell you two's story to me," Inertia said. Thor raised a brow.

"And why is that? You do not come as a woman overly curious of other's matters," Thor retorted.

"Oh really? So is it wrong to be curious over the possible reason behind all this mess?" Inertia snapped. "You see, the problem stems from Loki, your brother. Whatever happened, it appears your bickering hasn't ended since New Mexico." She took a deep breath and stopped walking. She grabbed Thor's shoulder and glared at him. "Thor, what exactly happened in Asgard when the New Mexico incident happened?" she asked slowly.

Thor's eyes moved any way from her. She waited.

"He found out who he actually is. He was quiet upset," he answered curtly, whirling away from her grasp. "He still is now. I suggest you keep your guard up. He is sly."

"I never let my guard down," she said, more of reminding herself to do so. She mused over Thor's short explanation as the Asgardian moved away from her. She tailed Steve to the lab, her steps echoing in worry. Even now, with a strong cage promised for Loki, Inertia felt apprehension gurgling in her stomach. The God of Mischief was known to play with the others' strengths—at the same time, weaknesses. She worried about the other operatives and her current comrades, including Thor, for they had not lived long enough or experienced enough to deal with Loki's clever masquerades. She had encountered many like him, though not as sly, and she had learnt enough.

At least, not his past.

 _What really happened in New Mexico?_ She wondered, though at this rate her question would remain unanswered by the Asgardian, and the other person who knew what exactly happened was under the control of Loki himself. Her mind returned to the sceptre, which had bothered her since the beginning of all of this. It emanated a similar energy as the Tesseract, with a tinge of difference. To what extent was this sceptre capable of performing miracles?

Banner was waiting for them in the lab, his eyes glued on the single computer displaying the events inside the prison room. Tony appeared nonchalant whilst Steve frowned, standing next to each other as if the other was non-existent. Inertia placed herself next to Banner, her expression unreadable, as they watched the Director and Loki interact. The Doctor almost bit his lips, engrossed by the glass cell.

 _How could he not? The cell was originally dedicated for him._ She glanced at the sceptre, untouched on Banner's desk, the energy wafting around its gemstone disturbing her.

Everything was falling too neatly in place.

" _In case it's unclear. You try to escape, so much as scratch that glass,"_ they heard Fury speaking, menacingly. From the screen, they saw Fury pressing a button which opened the hatch beneath Loki's prison, revealing an endless sky where nothing solid remained. Loki looked down, acting as if he was frightened. " _Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?"_ The director then pointed Loki. " _Ant,"_ he said before he directed his fingers to the button. " _Boot."_

 _"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me," Loki responded with a smirk._

 _"Built for something a lot stronger than you."_

 _"Oh, I've heard,"_ Loki muttered as he looked to the camera, seemingly staring at Banner directly. Banner shuddered, though his eyes did not leave the screen. " _The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man. Perhaps the woman too, a being I know beyond all your understanding. How desperate are you, that you call upon such alien creatures to defend you?"_

Inertia frowned, assuring herself that he had certainly _not_ discovered her true identity. Banner looked at her in sympathy, apparently not as disturbed by those intimidations.

" _How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control—"_

 _"Do you believe you can also control beings with powers beyond your imagination?"_ Loki shot back, grinning. " _You are meddling with people who are able to break any moment. The beast locked in the man, the power hidden behind the woman. She might be able to control her powers, but that is what makes her dangerous. What would you do if she was to betray you?"_

 _"Inertia won't betray me,"_ Fury retorted surely. In the lab, all eyes were on Inertia.

" _How are you so sure?" She doesn't even trust you. You don't even_ know _her, am I correct? At least, that is what your agent told me,"_ Loki explained. The statement pinned down Fury's arguments, and Inertia prepared herself to leave the room. " _The archer told me even you don't know her past. What a_ reliable _person to trust, isn't she?"_

 _If you leave now, no one will ever believe in you._ Elliot's words echoed in her head. Only now did she realise it was true. It was at moments like this was she really tempted to call him, to reach for his wisdom. She knew the others were wondering about her past as well. She didn't blame them, for she had been born not to be trusted.

 _No one would ever trust a monster._

Would it be wise to tell the truth now?

If so, why had she capped her past for so many years? Her efforts to remain covert would be useless.

 _If you reveal the truth,_ he _shall see you with his ever-knowing eyes and you shall be judged like many of your people._

 _"If she wanted to betray us, she would have done that long ago,"_ Fury answered, much to Inertia's surprise. " _I don't believe a woman who has protected me many times and is willing to fight against a god is worth to be doubted."_

Inertia widened her eyes in disbelief. For the first time in her knowing Nick Fury, a man who would resort to any means to accomplish his goals, she respected him as a comrade. There was no hesitance in his voice, only faith and the surety that she was also listening. " _And when you're talking about being desperate, then yes I am. You've made me desperate. You might not be glad that you did, especially since I have such a woman backing me up."_

Loki did not surrender his smile, but Inertia could see the colour drained from his face and irritation marring his features. Fury smirked and hovered his hand over the button for a moment before he whirled away, stepping out of the detention room with triumph over the Silver Tongue. Inertia let out a relieved sigh. Steve stepped next to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"That's quite a sight," Steve remarked as he turned off the screen. "And here I thought I am the only one who trusts you."

"Trust is very vulnerable," Inertia said flatly, brushing away Steve's hand. She turned to the others, studying their reactions. Natasha, as always, remained as cold as stone, and Tony nonchalant. Thor's expression, however, was unreadable—though she knew better that he would not trust his brother's words.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" said Banner, apparently trying to divert the uncomfortable topic.

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" Steve asked. Thor finally broke his eerie silence, walking down the stairs to join the circle.

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known," Thor started. "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army? From outer space?" Steve asked. Thor nodded.

"You can use the Tesseract for wider purposes than energy supply if you're smart enough," Inertia added. "And judging from the incident previously in the research facility, he's going to build a portal for these creatures. Since he has Selvig and the other scientists. I suspect now he's smart enough."

Thor blinked when he heard the scientist's name. "Yes. Your friend Selvig has joined Loki's cause, by force, just like Barton and the rest of our scientists. I think the sceptre controls their minds, though what disturbs me more is why he surrenders so willingly. I expected greater resistance, but now everything seems to fall too neatly in place." She stole a glance to the sceptre, swallowing.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here," Steve said in support with her argument.

"But I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner reasoned otherwise. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him."

"Don't insult my spirit anima," Inertia whispered. Natasha chuckled, breaking the sombre atmosphere for a while, but immediately returned to her solemn state.

"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother," Thor defended sternly. Natasha cleared her throat.

"He's killed eighty people in two days, and blasted Inertia many times with that sceptre," Natasha informed. "Just in case you don't know."

"He's adopted," Thor curtly said, rather nonchalantly. Inertia furrowed her brows, though after their previous conversation she did not bother to ask further. However interested she was of the cause of Loki's rebellion against his people and family, she knew too well one's past was not to be meddled with.

"What are his powers, besides his clever mind?" Inertia inquired slowly. Thor contemplated for a moment before he answered.

"He studies sorcery, as you may know, and likes to dabble in illusions," Thor told them. "He is also capable of healing, so don't expect him to fall just because of an injury."

"Quite the martial artist," Steve added. "Hundreds of years of training, I guess."

"Then again, you should all be wary of his words. There's a reason why he's called Silver Tongue."

"And his sceptre," Inertia continued, directing her words to Banner. "Whatever you do in studying that, do not get too deep. We don't know its capabilities yet." Abruptly, Fury's voice barked in her ears.

" _Inertia?" You there?"_ Fury inquired.

"Yes, sir," she said surely, noticing again all the eyes watching her.

 _"I want you to keep an eye on that Loki guy. So far you are the only one capable of handling him. And consider it a favour after what I just did,"_ he quickly said. _"Don't let anyone in or out, except for me."_

"Understood, sir," she answered, before Fury silenced his comms. She sighed flipping her staff and turning to the others who were trapped in bemusement.

"Where are you going?" asked Natasha, as sharp as always.

"Babysitting," Inertia answered with disinterest. Thor looked utterly dismayed once he understood her intentions.

"Why are _you_ watching him instead of me? I am his brother," Thor protested.

"It's precisely because you're his brother that she needs to be in charge," Natasha argued. "Inertia is the best suited for provocative and intimating prisoners. Because no one dares to provoke her."

"Except for my brother," Thor added.

"I know you do not trust me that much," Inertia started. "But I have encountered many like him before. I can be deaf if I have to, and I am capable of handling him if things came to worse."

Sensing victory over Thor's protests, she simply bowed to the god and walked away from the lab, her face stern. Deep inside, however, she too was swimming in a sea of anxiety. It was not his provocative words which worried her, but the plans ongoing in the shadows as he stood there in the prison. Clint, now his underling, was no ordinary agent who could do merely field operations. He was equally cunning in strategy and deception. No doubt he was working on something behind their backs.

Yet with all those matters probing her mind, she had another mystery disturbing her conscience. Thor's simple two words had provided her a broader sight of Loki's reason in doing this. There was something more hidden behind those hateful eyes, a reason for all his actions. She sensed he had more reason to destroy Earth than just for fun. He was _not_ a simple insane villain. He was like her, concealing a cause hidden behind another. A history hidden behind the eyes which had shown _sadness_ back when he first arrived on Earth.

And she wanted to know what it was. She _would_ know.

As Inertia walked out of the room, Thor watched her back furtively. "Do not worry. She can handle it," Natasha further assured him, though in her voice was an equal doubt. Thor shook his head, turning on the surveillance screen again.

"I don't know who should I fear for," Thor murmured, observing Inertia's figure passing the hallway. "For my brother, or for him."

oOo

Loki sat silently in his glass prison, contemplating the plan in motion. Those who were opposing him were oblivious of what's coming to them. They were fools for capturing him and taking him straight to their headquarters. Soon, the archer and his men would overthrow this vain fortress and retrieve him and the sceptre, which now he presumed lay unguarded somewhere in one of the labs.

They assumed they knew so much, yet they saw so little. They trusted each other too much, relying solely on trust in their operations. He had learnt much during his exile and he had learnt to be _trusted,_ not to trust.

A stung from his abdomen reminded him such results had come with a cost. He had not the time to heal the injuries attained from the previous battle, in which the woman had gained a great victory from him. She was the first of her kind he had ever seen. Unlike the man who concealed the monster within, she had a firm control over her powers—which perhaps could provide her an equal standing against a god. Loki smirked, allocating his energies into healing his wounds whilst he contemplated the woman's true identity.

Just then the door to the room slid open. Loki remained fixed on the floor and glanced at his visitor. She was the same woman whom not long ago was doubted by his comrades just by his silly words. But it appeared that she could not as easily be deceived as the others.

"And here I thought you have had enough of my existence," Loki said, closing his eyes and pretending to meditate. He heard the woman sitting on a chair, perhaps next to the control pad which could plunge him to death in a split second. A faint clang suggested she had laid her weapon against the control pad. "What importance do you have here with me?"

"I am here to watch you," she replied. "And to talk about several things which have disrupted my mind for a while."

Upon hearing her second reason, he opened his eyes, and without hesitance greeted his visitor. Now that they were face to face, at least not in the midst of darkness or battle, he took a moment to assess her wholly. She was wearing the same attire as they first encounter, though it was stained with dust and blood. Her hair was pale blonde, almost white. Sharp bronze eyes stared back, accompanied by skin so pale she almost looked like a corpse.

After assessing his opponent, who wasn't bother by his observation, he finally spoke. "There is rarely anyone who wants to engage with a willing conversation with me."

"Then consider me one of a kind," she retorted. Loki chuckled, pulling himself to his feet and walking closer to the glass. His gaze lingered on the control pad. The woman, as if understanding his conditions, tapped the control pad several times.

"I have activated the surveillance for repetition. Our conversation shall not be heard, nor shall I reveal it to anyone," she said.

"How can I trust you?"

"You can't."

Loki furrowed his brows, but there was no doubt in her eyes. Perhaps she was used to lying to everyone, he didn't know. "Now, would you talk to me?" she asked again.

Loki narrowed his eyes. He was interested with her curiosity, yet he needed to be careful. He must not divulge any important information. "Inertia, isn't it?" he started. "How about… we make an exchange? I shall ask you a question and in turn you may ask me one. It seems more _interesting_ that way."

He expected her to threaten him with her capability to drop him to the earth, but much to his surprise she did not. "Farewell," she said with a sigh. Loki flinched.

 _What is her intention? If she doesn't want this conversation to be heard, then it is certainly not the orders from her superiors._

"Since you're the one who asked for this favour, I'll be the one starting," Loki said. "What made you think I was tortured before I came here?" Loki asked playfully, though his mind remained keen and attentive.

"Your face is very pale, as if you haven't seen sunlight for a long time," she answered. "And by pale, it is rather unusual pale. Dark eyes and exhausted face suggested lack of sleep, though I am truly capable of differentiating an insomniac person from a depressed one. And you are neither."

"Clever," praised Loki. This woman was smarter than he thought. "Your turn."

"Why are you surrendering so willingly?" she instantly asked.

"I won't answer that," he said as he held out a finger to silent any of her protests. "I did not say I will answer every question willingly. Give me another."

He saw she knew he was buying time for something, particularly for the archer to arrive, but she did not act against his intentions. "Then who tortured you before you arrived here?" she asked calmly.

This question was unexpected, but he could answer it without any problem. "The same man who transported me here."

"In other words, the man who gave you the sceptre," she deduced. "You're conspiring with a being stronger than you."

Her statement stung him with shame, though he did not deny it. Embarrassment was only another step to achieve his goals. "I told you I've made it too far to go back. Next question," Loki said, walking around the cell. He had intended to play with her further, but now sensing her increasing sharpness, he decided to turn the tables. "Who are you, actually? You appear yet act as if you are not a human."

"I won't answer this question," she shot back. Loki noticed her clasping her hands tight. He stepped closer to the glass and stared at her.

"Why? Too afraid to reveal your past? The cause of the others' vulnerable trust for you?"

"I should say the same to you," she snapped. Loki widened his eyes. "You are not Thor's brother by blood. It is what makes you so angry."

"You don't know anything about me," Loki grumbled.

"I won't know until you tell me," Inertia said. "Your past is as dark as mine, such that Thor cannot even reveal it himself. You fear your history as much as I."

"You think so? Then you are a _fool,"_ Loki snapped, now glaring at her. He paced furiously and stopped an inch before the glass, the distance between them seemingly shrinking by the moment. "You don't know what it is like to be exiled from your homeland. You don't know what it feels to be lied upon your entire life. You don't know how it hurt me when I discovered my family is not even my own. You know _nothing._ "

His desperate voice echoed in the detention room. Inertia gaped at his reaction, her expression unreadable. She did not move slightly despite his reaction now draining completely the colours of her face. Her staff lay stiff by her side, and she showed no signs of reaching it. Loki only realised then that he had lost control over his breathing.

 _She's the one who's playing with me, from the start,_ Loki realised.

"Enough," he curtly said as he turned his back away from her, regretting his decision to even talk to her. Whatever the outcome, she had won in this game of words. She had seen his weakness; his uncontrollable emotions which he had had meticulously hidden until now.

"You're wrong."

Her voice was cold yet soft, touching the painful parts of his soul. He slowly turned and faced her. She was now standing close to the glass, her face so clear and unclouded by doubt or dishonesty.

"What did you say?" Loki shot back.

"You're wrong to say I know nothing about that kind of life," Inertia said, almost speaking to herself. "You are correct, I am not a human. I do not belong here on Earth, or anywhere anyone can think of. A fool I may be indeed, to stay where I should not be."

She drew a deep breath and looked at him, sincerity embellishing her features. "I am a being born from two worlds, an abomination of both. They fear me and my powers, and I am forced to hide from the eyes of the watcher."

"The watcher?" Loki immediately asked. He stepped closer to the glass. _Does she mean Heimdall, of Asgard? The Watcher of the Worlds? But it is impossible for her to know him, unless…_

"Are you an Asgardian?" he hesitantly asked.

"I am not," she corrected. Loki blinked and pondered further, resorting to other possibilities.

"Then are you from other realms outside the Nine?" Loki asked again, though her knowledge was bothering him truly. Where did she get this information? From his observations, she was no good friend of Selvig, nor did she seem a scholar who studied myths and legends.

Inertia solemnly shook her head and smiled. "I told you I am not from anywhere, and no place to call home. For years I have wandered the lands alone, never knowing where my path ends. You have my answer."

She closed her eyes, as if she was about to weep, but she did not. Instead she waited, for his answer to her question. He was swallowed by silence. Those words were not a lie, too sincere to be false. Numerous questions which should have grown from her confession were extinguished by the sense of familiarity.

 _She has the same fate as I._

"You… are indeed a strange woman," he whispered, looking at his feet. "You are too sincere, too honest with things you want to utter. No wonder it is difficult to break the others' trust towards you."

For once, he uttered not a twisted fact, but an honest truth.

 _What am I doing?_ He asked himself, but his conscience told him to do something he had never thought about for a year now. He lifted his head and sighed. "Well, since you've answered my question, I shall now answer yours," he said, curving a smile.

Little did he know that for that brief moment, he forgot all his goals and his purpose on Earth, for better or for worse.

* * *

A/N: Hello friends! I am back from my two-week exams and am now posting another chapter on my June Hol-

Actually, no, it is not a holiday. The sad fact of being a student is that there is never a day called holiday, because homework and assignments always shadow you like an obsessive stalker. But at least I am able to sleep well these days and have more time to write this fic. I am not so sure with this chapter, but I hope you like it. As I am more free now, I can post more often and I promise you guys I'll get past the Avengers arc and probably enter Thor the Dark World arc by the time June Hols ends.

I really really thank you guys for reading this fic. I don't know how to express my thanks especially since it took me so long to update this. I hope you guys like it, and I'll see you in the next chapter :)


	8. 0106: Trust and Betrayal

Why did she say that? Inertia wondered relentlessly, the moment between Loki and her as if stopping. It was as if she had said her past out of pure emotional drive, not driven by her intention to discover his weaknesses. No, everything had drastically changed since they started their conversation. She was now talking to him not because she wanted to benefit her comrades, but solely because she wanted to know him _more,_ his dreaded past, the reason behind anything.

"You're… going to answer my question?" she asked hesitantly.

Loki, to her surprise, merely shrugged, placing his palms again behind his back. "I thought humans have a motto that their pasts do not define them?" he retorted in return.

"I am not a human and you know that," Inertia said. Loki chuckled silently.

"It seems so," he sighed. "I would not tell this to others normally, but since you have told me some of your _notorious_ past, I should tell you some of mine. It depends on how mindful you are to deduce the details." Again, another game he could help not to play, but this time it was different. "I am similar to you in that the homeland I dwelled was not a homeland I belonged to."

"Then, you're not an Asgardian?" Inertia asked. Loki vaguely shook his head.

"I am indeed not an Asgardian. From my pale complexions you should have known," he continued. Hesitance halted his next words, his origins which he had never wanted to utter. But even then, even with the notorious title he held, he was still a man of honour, and he would repay the woman for telling her past sincerely in an equal manner. "Yes, I am not Thor's brother by blood, nor by honours and position…" His face darkened then, and his opponent's face followed suit. "I was born as Asgardian's immortal enemy, a wielder of ice, beings of winter."

Horrible memories flooded into Inertia's mind. Bloodshot eyes as cold as ice, screams of terror, tears of desperation. She winced and her heart ached, for there was only one creature of such description. " _Jotuns,"_ she muttered.

She saw him widening his eyes, perhaps wondering where she had obtained such knowledge. Oh, how little did he know. He gazed into her eyes. "Frost Giants, immortal enemy of Asgardians. You despise Thor and Odin because they lied to you," she realised. "What happened?"

If she had been an ordinary human, he would have lashed out on her for her unnerving vast knowledge, yet somehow when she spoke so about his kin, he did not sense hate. Albeit her voice was filled with fear and sorrow, she did not speak bitter of the Jotuns. "You have studied well after Thor's incident, I believe," he remarked. "Yes. I was shunned by my true father, Laufey, and lied upon by my false father, Odin, for a thousand years. They took everything from me, deeming me not worthy of power and the throne."

"I don't think you want power or throne, Loki," Inertia corrected, pursing her lips. "You know that."

Loki flinched and scoffed in exasperation. "If you are saying that I do not hope for power but for love then perhaps you're correct," he said, his voice rising in anger. "But I have given everything, Inertia… _Everything_ for Asgard to protect them, to please Odin and his stupid kingdom! And what did they give me? Hatred, exile, and _execution._ They saw me as God of Mischief or whatever fool a Silver Tongue I was. I did not do anything wrong? What is the wrong of being myself whilst saving others?" Loki paused, his breath hitched. He dared not see her face. "And—AND THOR!"

Inertia took a step back, taken aback by his echoing rage. "He claimed himself my brother, but he could never understand me. He indulged himself in glory that brought upon Asgard suffering, death! People saw him as the perfect prince despite his reckless, brutish attitude, disregarding all my efforts in supporting him. He took away _everything_ from me!" Loki slammed the glass wall, shaking his cell for a few seconds. He looked at the floor, gasping for calmness he had lost.

"I—I shouldn't have said that," he slowly whispered, realising he had spoken to much. He slowly lifted his eyes away from the floor and braced for whatever look on her face. Memories rushed back into his mind. The day of Thor's failed coronation; the Casket of Ancient Winters; Odin's fading gaze; darkness and abyss—"

When he saw the single tear flowing down her face, the memories stopped. Those eyes were in pain, as if understanding his circumstances. "You're hurt," she said, her voice so gentle and different than that of the warrior inside. Never had he seen such kind eyes besides his mother's.

"What are you?" Loki asked plainly. All his anger had been drained from his veins. The thirst for vengeance seemingly stopped. He could only feel… sadness.

"The world is cruel Loki. We are alike, you and I," Inertia whispered. "But why this? You are still much more fortunate than me, you have more many paths to take."

"More fortunate?" Loki scoffed. "What do you mean?"

"A thousand year with a family is better than a thousand years without one." She looked at him one last time, before he expression turned sour and cold again—a _mask._ Before he could ask again, she had turned her back away and rushed towards the control pad. Her fingers tapped the control pads furiously—cancelling the repetitive surveillance—and the doors to the room subsequently opened. Entering the room was Agent Romanoff, her face serious and stiff. Inertia faced the new visitor with indifferent visage.

Natasha's gaze lingered on Loki, who had stepped away from the glass. "Inertia, can I have a second with the guy?" she asked Inertia.

"Fury doesn't allow anyone to get close to him, except for me," Inertia retorted.

"Have you thought of interrogating him for the whereabouts of Clint yet?" Natasha asked. "Fury might not have succeeded in uncovering the truth for him, but I can. You know I am better."

"He is an Asgardian who is known as Silver Tongue," Inertia argued. "Do not underestimate him."

"So you're okay with me doing it right?"

Inertia stayed silent for a moment, before she sighed. "Alright, but be careful. I am only allowing you in because I owed you Clint's incident," Inertia said, letting Natasha in. Inertia brushed past her, taking her staff with her.

"Where are you going?" Natasha asked. "You running away from your post?"

"I trust you in this," Inertia reasoned.

"You might want to hear about this," Natasha added. Inertia shook her head.

"I don't think so," she replied, walking away. "I'll be waiting by the door outside. If something happens, call me through the comms."

The door slid open and Inertia stepped out of the room. Natasha stood in bemusement and turned to Loki, suspicious of what he had done. Rather, he should be the one suspecting Inertia's intentions. What was the purpose of that brief yet meaningful conversation? By now, she had shown herself as a clever and cunning individual as well, and she could capably use his new knowledge of his past against him. Yet she had promised before, and somehow he believed she would not break her word.

 _I… trust her._

With the door sliding to a close, the conversation before dissipated from his mind and was replaced by his main objective. The arrival of this woman would be an advantage to his plans. He knew enough of her for a brand new game.

"I wanna know what you've done to Agent Barton," Natasha demanded.

Loki grinned.

oOo

 _It was summer. The sky was clear as the waters in the rivers and the lake. The sun radiated warmth she had always waited every year, its light finding way through the flourishing trees. Birds chirped and animals spied on her, who stood beside the lake alone and isolated. Not a moment did they dare to stand close to watch, for they feared what would follow. They had always acted such when she came, as if afraid of her presence._

 _Elliot had known something was wrong when he had heard her screaming, her voice terrified. He had immediately left his cottage and run towards the lake, where he heard roars and birds cawing in madness. He feared for her, the girl he had sworn to protect. He had promised her mother, and he would not forgive himself if she was hurt in any way._

 _But when he arrived in the lake, he merely saw her standing beside the waters. Nothing was wrong, except for a large bear enveloped in ice which laid dead beside her. And the solid waters were still as ice, frozen to their very depths. Neither was Ase moving nor harmed._

 _Elliot's face reflected off not fear, but pity. He slowly approached her, his steps firm as always. Eliot knelt in front of her and grabbed her hands, which froze him even with his strength._

 _"Elliot," she whimpered, trying to hold back tears. "I—I saw something."_

 _"It's alright, calm down," he assured her, embracing her tightly and brushing her hair. "What did you see?"_

 _"The monsters in your stories, Elliot," she whispered. "Frost Giants. They came here and froze the bear. I saw their red eyes on the lake before it froze."_

 _Elliot had not expected this to come so early. He could feel her tremble, and he pulled away from her._

 _"Why were they here, Elliot? I thought you said they cannot make it past Bifrost, or any other portal in that matter," Ase stammered._

 _Perhaps, it was time to tell her the truth after all. Elliot drew a deep breath, weighing the consequences of his actions so far. It was inevitable, he knew, and thus he spoke._

 _"It's time to know who you really are."_

Inertia opened her eyes, the brief memory fading from her mind. Playing with her staff, she brushed away the memories completely. Loki resembled her in more ways he could have imagined, he just did not know it. She wanted to investigate more, but she should focus all her attention to the current task at hand.

The door to the room suddenly slid open, and Natasha leapt out with a desperate face. "Romanoff, what's wrong?" Inertia inquired immediately.

"Loki means to unleash the Hulk," Natasha revealed. Inertia widened her eyes, trying to argue with her report, but Natasha had sprinted away. "Watch him while the others and I take care of Banner."

"What—"

Natasha had disappeared from vicinity. Judging from her voice, the woman was not jesting. Inertia gripped her staff and stepped into the detention room, greeted by the seemingly-oblivious Loki. He was smiling a menacing grin which told her his plans were going well.

"What did you tell her? What are you planning?" she asked sharply.

"I am just warning her of the future," Loki said simply. Inertia's hand twitched, wanting to inform the others of her suspicions. But then again, if what he had said was true, it would mean the worst of them. She did not doubt Bruce's ability to restrict his beast, but things could always go out of expectations.

"You're all blind all the time," Loki continued after a moment of terrifying silence. "You don't know that the real danger is among you."

"Banner is not a danger," Inertia defended. "I have seen men more dangerous than him."

"And who is that?"

She didn't answer, for suddenly the base shook terribly. The sound of an explosion afar marked the beginning of another battle, and strong tremors threw her off balance to the floor. She crashed the ground, face hitting the cold platform hard. Her consciousness thrummed as more explosions rung in her ears.

Inertia groaned and rose to her feet as the ship continued to sway. Warm blood trickled from her wounded temple. "What in the world?" she muttered to herself as she studied the surveillance videos displayed on the screen. Several of them were mere black blurs, other showing frantic operatives running down the hall. She switched to the lab, unharmed, with her comrades bursting into action under current circumstances. All of them left the lab, spare for Natasha and Banner. Banner was panting heavily.

"Romanoff," Inertia said to her comms. "Banner."

" _I know,"_ she replied desperately, walking towards the doctor. Inertia switched her attention to the cameras displaying the destroyed corridors. Armed men began pouring into the base, a daze Clint leading them.

"It's started," Loki said. "And you cannot stop it."

Inertia paid no heed and instead touched her comms. "Agent Hill, Fury, do you copy?" she asked. "We have been infiltrated. Barton s leading the company." There was no answer. Inertia waited impatiently as the intruders moved swiftly through the corridors. She knew where they were heading, and immediately tapped the control pads. The sliding doors were shut with a loud sound, and Inertia sprinted towards the door.

A voice from her earpiece brought hope for her. " _Inertia? Are you alright?"_ Fury spoke, his voice filled with worry. Inertia let out a relieved sigh.

"Yes, sir," she replied surely. "What happened?"

" _One of the engines exploded. The base is losing altitude fast,"_ Fury explained.

"Barton is leading the company," Inertia reported, readying her staff. "All armed, heading directly to the detention room."

"Standby. Lock the doors, but do not drop Loki. We still need him," Fury instructed. "Do not let them take him. Kill if you must."

The word 'kill' resonated in her mind. She did not fear killing someone, but she would like to avoid such happening as far as possible. "Yes sir," Inertia said reluctantly.

She knew such a simple defence in the form of the locked doors would not stop these elite operatives. She would be forced to fight them, risking their lives as well. _Kill if you must,_ she repeated mentally, her eyes returning to the control pad. In the lab, Banner suddenly rose with strength and Natasha stepped back. The doctor had failed to cage his beast.

"The monster is awakening," Loki said, sitting in his cell. "You can leave, you know. I will be fine here, I assure you. Unharmed."

"They will be just fine," she said in return, reading her battle stance as she faced the door. On the screens, the dazed operatives broke up into smaller squads. She noticed only five of them heading towards the detention section. They were trained like all other operatives, and such affinity perhaps would bring them their doom. Fury's instructions only reminded her that she had killed people indifferently before for a greater sake. The operatives would inevitably share the same fate as them if this continues. If Loki was to escape, it might be as well as Earth's doom.

" _Report, five armed men are entering the detention section,"_ she said to the others when Loki's henchmen arrived before the door.

"You'll die," Loki suddenly said, his voice as if pleading. "Why strive so hard for this world? It is nothing but a world full of chaos, full of fools. Why try to protect it?"

Why indeed? She owed so little to Earth, and the world instead bore her much more burden. Inertia smiled, remembering the day she left Elliot, the day when she decided to find her own path. Not away from Earth. "Because… it is the only place I can call home," she said, turning to Loki momentarily. His smile was gone, replaced by an incomprehensible expression. "It might not be the best place, but at least I can call this place home."

The door burst open, thrown to the floor in an explosion. Her eyes caught the first man lingering before the opening, and without further contemplation she rushed towards him. Her metal staff struck her opponent's abdomen, sending a force so strong he collided with his other comrade and crashed the wall. The other three fired their guns at her and she blocked them with a small force field. Quickly, she sent an enemy next to her across the corridor with a blast of force, whilst she whirled to the others with her staff. Without any doubt, she hit the other two with her weapon again.

Her very first opponent was now standing once more and fired at her. Several of the bullets hit, but they only grazed her skin. The other, behind him, opted to throwing a grenade at her—and it was certainly not a smoke grenade. She immediately leapt back, bracing herself against the explosion. The object blasted her with a force beyond recognition, sending her several inches towards the control pad.

 _Upgraded grenades,_ she remembered, pulling herself up. Her opponents had returned to their footing as well, again firing after the vain attempt to blast her to death. They had entered the detention room, seemingly not bother by the tremendous pain which should have affected their muscles and coordination. _The sceptre has enhanced their physical capabilities, rather, numbing their sense of pain._

Another grenade was thrown at her, but this time it did not explode. A bright flash blinded her vision and she closed her eyes. Her enemies fired at her and their bullets found her true. Her blind defence of force field allowed several of the projectiles to land on her. She grumbled when they seeped into her skin, and realised they had been prepared to face inhuman beings like her.

"I am sorry soldiers," Inertia said when she regained her vision. She charged at the nearest men, lunging at him and slashing her staff. Solid metal confronted his skull, followed by a deafening crack of his bone. Inertia winced faintly. The soldier was thrown across the room, landing limply with his fractured head peering into emptiness.

Inertia did not linger to mourn for the man and instead whirled around to strike the others. Bullets ached her nerves and she groaned, feeling the burning pain from her light wounds. More projectiles threatened her, and this time she deflected all towards her opponents. The projectiles merely hit their feet and shoulders, much to her dismay, and they were paralysed.

She noticed herself panting. In that brief moment she pulled the bullets out of her body, blood oozing out for a second before stopping. Then she returned to her remaining enemies. An enemy dead, two paralysed, and another one still standing.

There should have been two more standing.

Her gaze slowly found the last soldier standing next to the control pad. Her heart thundered as she sent a blast towards him just too late to prevent his hand from slamming the button and unlocking the cage. Inertia tried to rush towards the control pad, but one of the soldiers threw another grenade at the control pad. The machine exploded in a rumble, sending smoke that filled the room. Shots were fired at her and Inertia cursed internally. She raised a hand and sent force towards the direction of the bullets. One bullet found the eye of an agent, knocking him down. Inertia panted, glancing at the glass prison.

It was empty.

" _No—"_

Suddenly a piercing pain thrust her abdomen. Warm blood trickled from the flesh wound, an army knife penetrating her stomach. Blood slowly gurgled in her mouth and she coughed them out, splattering the floor with red blood. A hand from behind snatched her staff, dropping it to the floor with a deafening clang.

"Well, we could have been friends," Loki whispered grimly to her ear. "But I am afraid it's too late."

Inertia closed her eyes, trying to lift her hands to retaliate against her opponent, but she found no more strength in her limbs. "Hatred… is never the path, Loki," she pleaded with a series of coughs. "You do not have to do this. Man—many will suffer because of your actions. _You_ will suffer, Loki. Do… you want pe—people to suffer the same as you?"

Loki stayed silent for a moment. "I have prepared to see that for a long time," Loki whispered again. "And what do you all know about loneliness and betrayal?"

"I do," she stammered. "I understand being left alone, fearing one's own powers and existence. I understand your pain."

"You know nothing," Loki muttered slowly before he pulled his weapon out of her body. Inertia clutched her wound and turned around. Loki widened his eyes when he saw her face, full of sadness. A single drop of tear flowed from her eye as she began losing her consciousness.

 _Why am I crying?_ She mused, losing control over her body. _Elliot._ She closed her eyes, taken over by the sheer pain streaming in her nerves. The sensation of falling was unlike anything she had experienced—perhaps because she was slowly dying, for the first time. She pictured Elliot, the day they had separated from each other, and the day she discovered who she was. The day she had sworn to take her own path in the world.

Inertia heard faint voices from her earpiece, perhaps Coulson calling her. Unable to move nor speak, she let herself fall further.

A pair of arms caught her, a saviour whom perhaps she recognised so well. Yet she could not see him.

She could no longer see anything.

oOo

She looked into his eyes with an inscrutable emotion while clutching her bloodied stomach. Loki's breath hitched as he watched her fall, towards the red platform. He had done his task, wiping one of his most dangerous enemies. She would no longer disturb his plans henceforth with her incredible powers.

Yet why the sight of her dying pained him so?

 _.die._

Unconsciously Loki sprinted towards her, catching her limp body before she hit the ground. Colour was drained from her face, the embodiment of moon itself, and very _cold._ Had she been this cold before he stabbed her? Blood continued to flow from her abdomen, the wound closing slowly but not fast enough to maintain her survival. For the first time in his life, he hesitated in ending an enemy's life.

 _Why do I hesitate, when she is no one but a pawn of Fury and his organisation? No, she is not a mere puppet, not a doll at all. She makes decision and follows orders according to her own will. Am I sympathising this mortal?_

 _You're hurt._

"Indeed, I am hurt. It pains me like hell," Loki spoke to himself. "How did you know?"

She did not answer, her face limp and peaceful in her condition. Even after their conversation, she was a mysterious figure to him, yet with a similar fate. He wanted to have that conversation once more, an interaction with someone like him. A conversation in which he don't have to restrain himself, in which he is able to forget his relentless schemes.

But she won't have such conversation with him anymore.

 _I am not a human._

No, he still had a chance to save her, to talk to her again, even when Earth had been taken over. As long as she survives, he could still meet her.

Without hesitation Loki placed his hand on her wound and felt her body twitching, indicating her still-lingering soul. "Do not die," he whispered, almost pleading, his hand slowly glowing a magical hue. Her wound gradually healed, the skin closing, leaving a nasty scar. Her breath faintly grew stronger, her skin not freezing but still cold. Even with the amount of blood lost, he was sure she would survive with her superhuman abilities.

As she fully healed, Loki slowly laid her body on the floor. Her earpiece thrummed, a voice coming out from it which implied what would happen next. " _Inertia?"_ a man spoke. " _Inertia, I'm coming for you now."_

Loki switched his attention to the control pad, which displayed the figure of an agent rushing towards the detention room. His brother was also in pursuit, armed with his hammer and running in full speed. Loki smirked, though faintly, as he realised the chance to rid of another obstacle.

Then he glanced at Inertia gain, for a moment his mind thinking of the despair she would have had if he killed her comrades. "We'll meet again," he said bitterly, stepping towards the cage for his next scheme. "And I'm sorry."

oOo

 _Elliot was looking at her, gripping her arms as if to remind her of the reality. "Ase, it's time to tell you the truth."Ase, it's time to tell you the truth."_

 _She had calmed down. His fierce eyes, for a moment, softened. "What truth, Elliot?" she asked, fear dominating her voice. She knew what he was going to utter, and she feared it. But one could never run away from the truth._

 _Elliot drew a deeper breath, struggling not to look away. "Your mother, is an Asgardian," Elliot explained. "A sorceress with great powers you inherited. Her powers and your own veiled you from the eyes of the Watcher. And your father…"_

 _"I know who he is," she said, not able to evade the inevitable. She could see the fear in Elliot's eyes, and she's going to say it._

 _"A monster."  
_

* * *

A/N: Hello guys! I'm back and I'm currently in my home country:))) So happy now that I'm here and now that I have more free time 3 I promise I'll be posting more often here. Loki is more empathetic towards Inertia and it's not because I ship them together. You'll learn it in the future chapters why Loki feels himself so similar to Inertia. (Guess guys! I wanna know your thoughts!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and let me hear your thoughts/inputs about the chapter.


	9. 0107: Assembling Heroes

The first sound she heard was the sound of a fan, spinning above her head, its soft breeze caressing her cheeks. The second was the sound of a book closing. Fluttering her eyes, Inertia turned her head to face her visitor, still bemused of her survival after such confrontation with Loki. Steve stared back at her, visibly relieved of her awakening, though his eyes showed a kind of sadness she had never seen in him since she'd met him.

"How long was I out?" was the first question she asked, out of the numerous in her mind.

"Around thirty minutes… After we've found you," Steve curtly answered. Thirty minutes certainly felt like an eternity.

"And the base? What happened while I was gone?" she asked. Steve did not answer for a long moment. The events which had brought her to unconsciousness flashed through her mind: being stabbed by Loki, hearing Coulson's and Thor's voices speaking through her comms… In the period of thirty minutes, anything could have happened to the helicarrier. Steve appeared hesitant to answer, and she intended to know why.

"Steve. What happened?" she asked once more, her voice still weak. Shee dared not move, fearing the pain which would burst from her wounds.

"Thor came first to the detention," Steve explained slowly. "Loki tricked him and trapped him in the cage. He was dropped from the base. Coulson came not long later… and—"

Steve paused, taking a deep breath. Inertia closed her eyes, her worst fears realised. She knew what he was going to say next. "He killed him," Steve finally said, and Inertia shed a single tear from her eyes, which disappeared the moment it touched her skin. "I'm sorry."

Deep inside she wanted to scream, to call upon the Watcher of Worlds to find her, to kill her on the spot, for she had committed another sin, for she had once more been unable to do anything. Phil Coulson, one of the few people she truly cared about, was gone. The Phil Coulson who had once been her mentor, and her father, and her friend. The man who had constantly conversed with her regarding his fascination towards his Captain America cards.

There would be no more high-caffeine coffees or dry jokes offered every now and then. No more occasional coughs from his old throat, his calming voice. No more of the sincere smile from his crinkled face, and certainly no more of his wisdom.

Phil Coulson was dead, and he had left her alone.

But even with the bubbling anger towards the world, the desire to lash out to all the people she would meet from thereon, she could not bring herself to seek vengeance. A deeper part of her killed the burning anger inside, extinguishing the fire. She could not bring herself to hate Coulson's murderer, either because of his past or because of the nagging suspicions she had harboured since their conversation in the cage. Slowly the objective side of her brain remerged, questioning the identity of Loki's master, who advertently had caused all the mess on Earth. Who had killed many of her comrades, including Coulson. She bit her lip, tasting blood, as she explored the possibilities of the true mastermind of this ordeal.

"Inertia?" Steve muttered. "Are you alright?" He had seen people so heartbroken by grief before, but no one appeared as calm as her. It was to his horror that this woman, who had just lost a father figure to her, remained tranquil and emotionless. What had she gone through to become as unwavering and stoic like this?

"I'm fine," she whispered, her train of thoughts slowly coming to an end. She rose from the bed, drawing a deep breath as a sharp pain pierced her stomach. She glanced at her stab wound, bound by bandages she had never worn in her life. She touched it, remembering the sharp blades that had caused it.

The pain had disappeared.

"What?" she muttered, opening the bandages. She furrowed her brows in astonishment, for there was no more wound. Only a small scratch was engraved on her skin. She has a wonderful durability, yes, but it could not have withstood the wound Loki had given her. It should have, at least, given her a menacing scar. "What did you do?" she asked, wondering whether S.H.I.E.L.D. had invented a miraculous drug or such.

"That's the way they found you, all covered in blood but not injured," Steve explained. "Even Tony cannot explain it."

"He stabbed me clean in my stomach and nothing happened," she scoffed. "I did not die, but I was supposed to. Even with this durable body." Inertia sighed and stood from the bed, trembling as she tried to gain footing. It seemed her wounds were healed, but not her stamina. She took her bloodied jacket lying on the desk nearby, whilst her mind still ran through possibilities of her miraculous recovery. She had never had the abilities to heal herself, even though she had the potential. Even if she had, it would not be an instant recovery.

Shoving the mystery away for later investigation, she focused herself on the task at hand. From her deductions, the base had fallen, and Loki had gotten what he wanted. It was a matter of time before his plan succeeded. "What other things you can tell me?" she asked.

"Are you sure you should be up and going?" Steve asked instead. "You've lost a lot of blood."

"I've suffered much worse," she shot back sharply as she wore her jacket. " _Tell me."_

Steve swallowed. "Loki escaped with the sceptre. Banner went rampage and wrecked the base, only to disappear. Perhaps he jumped off the base," Steve stammered. "And Clint has returned." Steve threw Inertia's staff. She caught it skilfully, scanning it briefly before she tested her hand with a short spin.

"Clint? Well, about time. What plans do we have now?"

"Stark discovered that Loki is going to conduct his plans on top of his own property," Steve reported. Giving her a meaningful look. "He's gone not long ago, and we're going to chase him."

"Chase him?" she questioned as they walked out of the room. The base was in ruins, she observed, and only several personnel were fully up and moving. "What does Fury say about this?" She didn't glance away from the dead bodies collected by the agents, reminding herself that she could have done better than that if she had not been so afraid of her own powers.

Steve didn't answer until he arrived in front of his own locker, where his shield was waiting for his master. He smiled suspiciously as he took his weapon. "That's why we're going to steal a plane."

"You're defying orders?" Inertia accused in disbelief. Steve's smirk widened.

"I am not bound to Fury or S.H.I.E.L.D.," Steve said as they paced towards the hangar. "The question is, are you?"

"No," Inertia immediately answered. "I may be an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I owe allegiance to no one. I only serve for the peace of Earth, and all its people." Clint and Natasha joined them on their way to their plane, both fully armed and furious. Clint looked as if he had just woken up from a very long sleep, but his steps and demeanour said otherwise. "But they might be," Inertia added nonchalantly.

"Defying orders are sometimes necessary," Natasha reasoned as she walked beside the woman. "And what we'll be using is my plane, so I have the right to use it."

"It's not yours to begin with, but I'm okay with that," Clint panted. "Oh, Inertia. Sorry about the lab incident."

"You've given me enough trouble with your presence alone," Inertia teased. "But it's good to have you back, alive. There's always a space for a sniper.

"Luckily, it's Natasha who confronted me back then, not you. I could be dead," Clint joked. "But are you sure you're okay after being stabbed like that."

"I am fine, finer than you obviously," Inertia said.

The hangar was quite abandoned. Only a few agents stood guard, each of them not heavily armed. A lone plane stood in the middle of the hanger, probably the only vehicle which survived the ordeal. Steve and the others continued their walk towards the plane, ignoring the questioning glances from the agents.

"You are not authorised to be here," a pilot said, blocking Steve's path. Steve sighed and towered the man with his large figure. The pilot instantly backed away, letting the fighters advance to their vehicle. Natasha and Clint slid into the pilot seat and immediately turned on the engines. The jet rumbled to life, and Steve and Inertia took their seats.

"Buckled up?" Natasha asked. The passengers nodded and the woman smirked. "Good, because it's going to be a bumpy ride."

oOo

Inertia had been to New York before. It was a city of business and deep criminal activities. She had fought gangsters in its darkest alleys, had interacted with hackers of all kinds. It was a city of magnificent technological advancement, and of working culture.

But she certainly didn't remember a large portal soaring from the top of the Stark Tower.

Inertia narrowed her eyes and observed the beings flying out of the portal which tore open the sky. They were beings she had never seen before, certainly not from the Nine Realms. Each of the Chitauri wielded guns which seemed powerful enough to hurt her, and to make it worse, each of them was riding a small version of quinjet-motorbike hybrid. The whole city was invested by the Chitauris, like flies landing on rotten carcasses. Screams of terrors boomed from the citizens, who scampered like rats towards shelters to no avail.

"Well, Stark should expect renovating soon," Inertia said, her expressions darkened as she peered through the cockpit window. "I must admit, we cannot do this alone, not without S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Out main priority is taking down Loki," Steve said. "Hopefully S.H.I.E.L.D. will realise the urgency to act soon." Through the glass they saw a flying armour swiftly manoeuvring amongst the buildings, with thousands of Chitauris tailing it. The armour noticed their arrival, giving them a short wave before he took a sharp turn away from their sight.

"Stark, we're heading north east," Natasha reported to Tony.

" _What, did you stop for drive-thru?"_ Stark plainly replied. Inertia sighed audibly, whilst Steve put a palm over his face. " _Swing up park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."_

Natasha rolled her eyes and turned the jet to the park. Along the way, they saw Tony flying towards their destination at the same time still evading thousands of enemies blindly shooting at him. "Brace yourself," Clint warned as he activated the machine gun beneath the jet. When Tony got close enough, he flew out of the jet's line of target and activated the machine gun. The arsenal roared, taking down dozens of enemies simultaneously. The rest of the Chitauris pulled back, disappearing behind the buildings. Natasha and Clint moved the jet around a tower, shooting all Chitauris that came across their path. One managed to hits the jet's wing, blasting the jet for a while and throwing its passengers off their seats.

Clint sighed in relief when he saw that the plane was still hovering. He advanced the jet to the top of the Stark tower, where Loki and Thor were fighting with each other.

"I see him," Natasha said as they closed in the tower. Inertia stepped closer to Clint, watching the brothers' battle unfolding. Loki, unfortunately, noticed the plane coming as it futilely fired at him.

Loki threw Thor to his side and raised his spear. "Barton, get back!" warned Inertia. Loki didn't spend another second to wonder and shot the jet's wing with his sceptre. The blast shook the passengers, and an alarm instantly sounded. "Get her down!" Inertia ordered, grabbing hold of the pilot seat as the plane spun.

"I'm trying!" Clint protested, trying to lower the jet as smooth as possible and leaving Thor and Loki to resume their dispute. The jet whirled in the air, barely dodging the towering buildings of New York. Inertia gaped when she saw the people below screaming, the shadow of the plane hovering above them. She snatched her staff and blasted the cockpit windows open. With a great leap she escaped the descending vehicle, landing just beside a stray street cleaner on the chaotic road.

Inertia spun and raised her hand, sending a stream of force towards the body of the jet. The jet's descent stopped as it was pushed back upwards. The street cleaner beside her froze and he stared at the jet.

"Go!" she urged him. It took quite the moment before he rid himself off the battlefield. Inertia then drew a deep breath and released the jet from her grip, letting it fall to the ground with a deafening crash. She rushed towards the cockpit, checking the wellbeing of her teammates. Clint and Natasha were gripping their seats, whilst Steve was panting heavily.

"Next time you wanna do that, you better tell us first," Natasha suggested.

"I'm sorry," Inertia said. Natasha nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt. The three got off the plane quickly and assessed their situation. The Chitauris continued to fly above them, covering the sky like dark clouds.

"I have enough surprises," Steve muttered as he lifted his shield. Then he noticed a strange happening in the sky. "What is that?"

All of them lifted their faces simultaneously, gazing to the large opening in the sky. From it came a gigantic beast, or aircraft or machine they didn't know, along with hundreds of Chitauri soldiers. Not only one, but _many_ of them, and each was the length of the towers in the city. The ship flew through the buildings ruthlessly, pulverising them completely.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked, his mouth agape.

" _I'm seeing, still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"_ Stark responded.

"You're expecting Banner to defeat these things?" Inertia asked in disbelieve, observing another warship come to New York. Around them the citizens screamed louder, almost deafening her ears. "If we wait for him we might see more of the towers destroyed, and more casualties," she added.

" _You expect yourself to defeat that?_ Tony remarked. Tony abruptly came to silence when he saw Loki jumping off the building, only to land on a Chitauri chariot and running away from Thor's grasp. " _Guys, the guy is flying."_

"I see him," Steve said. Inertia looked up, squinting her eyes. Loki was now flying among the Chitauris, firing blasts to the streets they were in. Inertia stepped forward and raised her hand, blocking the blast easily. Her gaze met his for a moment, before a stream of Chitauri blocked her view. They had noticed her existence and had decided, apparently, to take down the most dangerous enemy first. Hundreds of them fired at her at once, and Steve pushed her to the side. They hid behind the taxi and braced against the shots aimed at them.

"Look what you brought us," sighed Natasha. They heard more screams afar, from the buildings which would soon be demolished by the giant warships, or invaded by enemy soldiers. Around them people were still running aimlessly, with numerous Chitauris hunting them.

"Those people need assistance down there," Steve said, pointing at the buildings. "But first we need to deal with the warships. They are getting in the way." He thought deeply, thinking of ways to take down a warship he had never seen before. These were alien machineries and they could not possibly take it down, not with their limited powers. If Banner had been there, things would be easy, but there were only four of them right now, plus Stark. None of them had the capabilities to defeat such gigantic beast—

Then he looked at Inertia, gripping her staff till her knuckles became white as she followed the movements of the warships. She noticed him staring, and she froze. She knew what he was saying, and he hoped she would accept his pleas, but he received an unconvincing look instead.

"Inertia," Steve whispered.

"I can't," she cut him. "I have never taken down things as large as that."

That was a lie. It was not because she was incapable, but because she was afraid. She had the superpowers unlike the others and, although she was not as strong as the Hulk, she could take the warship down. Yet the fear of her true nature being revealed was overcoming her strength. She feared that everyone would see her as a monster she truly was, and they would throw her away from Earth, her only home.

"Listen," Steve continued, his voice low. "I don't know who you are or what your true capabilities, but right now I believe you are our only hope."

"Then you're wrong," Inertia retorted. "You know nothing about me. A monster can never be a hope for the people."

"Then it's an empty lie," Steve argued. "You are not a monster, Inertia. Don't let your own beliefs deceive you. Sometimes fear is the only thing hiding your true powers, Inertia."

Inertia was about to speak when she heard another warship entering the realm.

"Please," Steve pleaded. Inertia's heart sank. The world stopped and memories began to flush back into her mind.

" _Whatever you do, Ase, never reveal your true powers to the world, for it will be the end of your life forever,"_ Elliot had said. She understood the reason he said that. He wanted to protect her, from herself as well as Asgard. But was she worth protecting to begin with? Was her soul worth billions in the planet, when she was nothing but a flawed product of two worlds?

Inertia stared at her hands. Very pale hands which had once been so innocent. They were now marred with battle and mental scars, of her battles and struggles until this far. She had lived long enough to experience the bitterness and sweetness of life.

Perhaps to end it here was not a bad decision after all.

"What force can defeat those things?" Clint asked desperately. "And Banner, of all people, is not here. He is not the only one with such strength—"

And with that, Inertia rose. She held her staff in her hand, stepping out of their hiding place.

"Inertia, what are you doing?" asked Natasha. Inertia did not stop.

"A human cannot do it," Inertia explained as she stepped farther from the group. She halted for a moment, looking at the numerous enemies. She imagined the battle a thousand years ago, the battle between immortals which Elliot had told her so much about. Perhaps it was the same as this, though so different at the same time. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. "A human cannot do it, but an Asgardian can."

Natasha, Clint, and Steve widened their eyes. Inertia neither turned back nor hesitated, and instead rushed towards the nearest warship. She couldn't hide herself any longer, not when evil beings were threatening her last home. All the secrets, all the past she had tried to conceal, must be called upon once more.

"Let me take care of the warships, until hopefully Banner gets here," Inertia said to her comms as she paced faster. "Don't worry about me."

"Inertia, what—"

Before Clint could continue, Inertia had jumped to one of the chariots, taking a leap of faith.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! Here's another chapter of this fic and hope you like it :) Next chapter will be the big reveal of what her true powers are which might be too op for some of you. However, everything will eventually be explained later in the second arc. Thank you again for reading this fic patiently, although the quality is inconsistent and the updates are random. Give me your thoughts and see you soon!


	10. 0108 Breaking Free

_Ase gazed upon the sunrise, which casted a ghostly light upon the tranquil oceans. Far beyond the horizon was a land she had only heard in Elliot's stories. Land with tall skyscrapers reaching the sky, buildings as vast as a lake, and people as dangerous as snakes. A place of no magic which did not excite her, yet she had no choice but to go. No, it was_ her _choice. She needed to seek her place in the worlds, the purpose of her hidden existence._

 _She brought only a small rucksack with her, believing in her instincts alone in the strange new world. She had not told Elliot of this, though she knew he would soon find out before she left. And he did, for she waited for his realisation and arrival. He did not come in haste, somehow not surprised by this discovery._

 _"I'm leaving," Ase told him plainly. "Towards the mainland you've told me about."_

 _"I am not preventing you," Elliot said calmly. Ase was surprised by this revelation, for Elliot had tried to protect her from the outside world for so many years. "I am here to say goodbye."_

 _"You know this is not goodbye, Elliot, for you cannot stay here forever either," Ase said. "You've been dwelling in sadness and responsibility over me for too long. You must leave eventually."_

 _"I will, but not now," said Elliot, his voice hoarse, as if he had aged into an old man. "I knew this time would come, and nothing can hold your path away forever. I am here only to advise you, my dear."_

 _"I will listen to it."_

 _"Find a purpose as soon as you arrive on the mainland, and always hold on to it. Never use your powers uncontrollably, and never unlock your_ true _power, for he will certainly see you. And you shall be killed like the rest of your kin."_

 _"I am not afraid of death," she said surely._

 _"Well, you should be, for you are young. Yet the time you will spend out there will harden your resilience, and only then will you understand the true value of your existence."_

 _"Then tell me, what is the value of a monster, Elliot?" she asked back. As she had expected, Elliot could not answer. "Elliot, if even you can never answer it, then others will not as well," she whispered, curving a small smile._

 _"Even if I cannot answer it, Ase, you must know that I will be there for you. Always," Elliot said slowly. Ase smiled again._

 _"You are the only one I can depend on, I know. Farewell, Elliot."_

oOo

For a long moment, she could only hear the wind rustling in her ears. Then she landed hard on one of the chariots, quite coincidentally. There was a sense of conviction beating in her heart as she opened her eyes, standing face to face with her enemy. The speeding chariot did not bother her, for her balance was kept by the firm assurance of her mind.

The Chitauri screeched ominously, aiming its gun at her. Inertia spun her staff swiftly and artfully fell back, evading a blast from the enemy's gun. She used the momentum of her staff to lift herself up, and swiftly swung it at her enemy. It hit the alien with a loud bang, sending it off its vehicle. Now the vehicle was hers, and Inertia did not even bother to learn how to drive the machinery. Using her powers, she tilted the vehicle towards the nearest warship, which moved like a snake swimming in the sea.

The Chitauris started shooting at her, but she managed to evade all attacks by creating blasts of force around her chariot. Several chariots began gathering in front of her path, trying to create a barricade, she supposed. Ase did not waver, instead quickly leaping from her chariot and landing on the head of the nearest Chitauri. She propelled an incredible force from her feet and finally landed on her destination.

The warship was bigger than she had expected. She began to regret her boasting her capabilities in destroying this thing. She observed the mechanism of the airship, which she discovered was indeed a beast. A living being made for war, to her horror. She tapped its armour with her staff, and realised it was too hard to penetrate even with her durable staff.

Ase jolted when several blasts from the enemy guns hit just behind her feet. Instinctively, she ran towards the middle of the warship, where she deduced would be safer to think.

 _What can I do to destroy this thing?_ Inertia pondered, trying aimlessly to break the ship's exoskeleton with her staff. Indeed, as per her hypothesis, it did not even budge. She stopped and tried once more, this time in addition with a jump and a stronger force, but it resulted not far from before.

"Stark, do you have any ideas on destroying the warships?" she asked pensively.

" _Other than Banner, no,"_ Tony replied pessimistically. " _Wait, you are on the warship?"_

"Yes," she replied, scrunching her eyebrows. She ran through all possibilities, the skills and techniques she had used to defeat enemies. None was possible to bring down such a large airship, not even with tremendous force. Her hands touched the skull of the creature and her mind cleared for a moment. Her eyes fixated on her two hands, and a memory came to her.

"What... if the ship is frozen?" Inertia asked, her voice almost ethereal in her tranquil state of mind. "Will it budge?"

" _Well, I guess so. It's actually a good idea since this is a living creature we're talking about. At low temperatures you'll at least shatter some structures. At very low temperatures, you can completely destroy it."_

"Good," she exclaimed. "At least I have a way."

" _But how would you get the ice?"_ asked Tony. Inertia did not reply, instead disassembling her staff and putting it into her belt. There was no other choice, she had known. Sooner or later she would have to use it, and reveal everything she had tried to hide. But sometimes sacrifices are needed, she had learnt through her years of travelling. People die to protect others, and this is her sacrifice.

" _Inertia?"_ Tony asked once more, worry filling his voice.

"Don't get near the warship, Stark," Inertia warned him, clasping her hands together.

" _What—Inertia, you've got company."_

Inertia whirled around and saw several Chitauris had landed close to her. She grumbled and lunged at her enemies, kicking the first off its ship. The others fired their guns at her, but she blocked them with force field and punched them away. Her mind was clear, and so was her body. No one could defeat her in such a state.

Except for one.

Inertia loosened her fists when she saw Loki, standing at the edge of the ship. "Hello," he greeted, to her surprise, solemnly.

"Loki," she acknowledged him, though she did not reach her staff to face the armed warrior. Something inside her prevented her from attacking him. She remembered what had happened back in the base, and when she observed his face, realised the truth behind her quick recovery. "You did not kill me back then… Why?"

"I—" He paused a moment, pondering. He drew a deep breath and continued. "I thought maybe you would change your mind, for we are alike, you and I," Loki explained, stepping closer. He looked at her meaningfully. "I see the pain in your eyes, Inertia. You do not belong here, you play a greater purpose than protecting this pathetic world."

"Your mind is being played by the sceptre, Loki," Inertia persuaded him, stepping back towards the centre of the ship. "I've heard from the others that Banner was affected also. You need to snap out of it."

"Do not speak as if you understand me! I do this because I have a purpose, not because that stupid sceptre controls me. " Loki grumbled.

"You're wrong, because I know that deep inside you are still a good man," she said bitterly. "I do not want to hurt you, but I have no choice."

With her last words, she extended her hand, and pushed him. Loki flew in the air like a feather, his eyes widened in shock. Inertia pursed her lips, watching the man fall to one of the chariots. "WHY?!" he screamed.

"You'll understand," she said. She knelt, both of her hands touching the warship's outer skeleton. From the corners of her eyes she saw a beam of blue aimed at her. Loki was targeting her, but she did not waver. There was no more time, for below hundreds of lives were being risked.

Inertia closed her eyes, calling back bitter memories from her past. The ice lake, the red-eyed creature. She remembered the cold air surrounding her, the pieces of snowflakes falling down to her hands. Elliot's face when he saw her, and her expression when she saw her own reflection.

 _I am a daughter of a monster,_ her younger voice whispered.

"I am the daughter of a Jotun."

Cold brushed her skin, and in a sudden shift of the air, from her hands arrived frost colder than any winter. Ice crackled at the centre of the warship, spreading as fast as lightning and enveloping the warship in white sheet, turning the creature into a frozen creation. The numerous Chitauris inside the warship tried to escape the frozen judgment, but the frost was too fast for them, and soon they were engulfed in the icy menace.

And within that moment, she sensed something breaking. Something inside her body opened, a channel which had been dammed for hundreds of years. The barrier which had always concealed her out of the Watcher's sight had been broken by the cold ice, and in that moment Inertia felt a surge of power running through her veins.

"The seal has been broken," she whispered to herself as she stood up.

She opened her eyes, and saw her own reflection on the glassy ice. Bloodshot eyes stared back at her pale face, the same eyes which were cast upon her decades ago. It was surprising how, after she had unleashed herself, she felt _relieved._

The ice apparently had frozen the warship entirely, halting its movement. The beast began losing altitude, descending at a rapid speed. Inertia swayed, her head aching so much it almost tear her mind apart. She shook her head and assembled her staff, at the same time struggling to maintain her balance. Ignoring the pain in her head, she gathered all her strength, and smashed her staff onto the centre of the warship.

The warship broke like the sound of glass shattering, Inertia lost her ground and, with a horrifying realisation, she fell.

oOo

There were many times Thor could not believe his eyes, but none of those times struck him as magical as this. The beast, enclosed in perfect ice, fractured into several different pieces as an unknown force blasted its back. Thor lingered and observed the scene intently for a moment, before he noticed another being falling together with the pieces.

"Inertia," he realised. Intuitively he spun his hammer, and flew towards the woman. He caught her just in time, and he instantly shuddered, for her body was threateningly cold. _What have you been doing?_ he mused.

Thor landed safely on the ground, the debris still falling above them. He noticed several civilians nearby, all of whom were threatened by the falling pieces. Just as Thor thought he could not save them, Inertia reached her hand and changed the tide. Slowly the debris stopped mid-air, all seemingly as light as the feather. Thor gaped at the sight, for he had never seen her displaying this much power. Furthermore, he could feel something flowing in her body. A strong energy he had never sensed in her before.

Once the civilians were safe from sight, the creature's fractures immediately dropped to the ground. Thor laid Inertia to the earth, and saw that she had not been unconscious after all. He flinched when he saw her eyes. They were scarlet, just like the eyes of Jotuns.

"Inertia. What—"

"I'll explain everything later," she replied, closing her eyes and grimacing.

"Are you alright?" he asked again. She nodded her head.

"It's nothing. Just a painful headache," she explained. When she opened her eyes again, they were no longer red. Thor was once more caught in bemusement. He looked around him, studying the iced creature. Was she the one who froze the warship? Thousands of possibilities ran through his mind, and only one remained as he slowly understood everything.

"We need to regroup with the others," Inertia told him while pulling herself up. "I believe your encounter with Loki did not go well."

"True," Thor said, refraining from asking further questions. All those can be resolved later. "Are you sure you can keep up?"

"In this mess? Sure," she answered confidently, though her steps said otherwise. She could not find her staff. Perhaps it was separated from her during her fall. "Rogers, where are you?"

" _You hear the roars of the Hulk? That's where we are at,"_ Steve answered. Inertia smiled at Banner's timely arrival, for at least she would not have to make such a display another time.

"Do you need a lift?" asked Thor. Inertia shook her head, noticing the headache dissipating.

"I can find it myself," she said, before taking a big leap towards a chariot. The Chitauri on-board screamed. Inertia spent no time to waste and kicked him off-board, taking control of the vehicle. Now she knew what to do after her messy first try on the vehicle.

Inertia scanned across the battlefield and saw a green figure punching a warship. She smirked and drove the chariot towards her comrades. When they saw her, she noticed relief in their eyes. It appears they had been worrying about her, which was consolidating considering just how short the time she had spent with them in this ordeal.

She leapt off her chariot and landed beside Hulk, who had just stopped a warship barehanded. "Hello people," she greeted, panting. "What did I miss?"

" _The question is, what_ we _missed,"_ said Stark not far. " _I saw that thing encased in ice. What the hell happened?"_ Thor arrived beside her, and looked at her meaningfully.

"It's a long story," she simply answered. "First things first, we need to close the portal. Otherwise we might not hold up—"

All of them looked up when a deafening noise emerged above. More of the Chitauris entered Earth, two warships to count.

 _"Call it, Cap,"_ Iron Man ordered.

"Alright, listen up. Inertia, you get up the Stark tower and try to close the portal," Steve said.

"Why me of all people?" she inquired.

"With that power of yours, you'll figure something out," Steve reasoned. Such a poor reason it was. "And by that, I mean now."

Inertia sighed. "Yes sir," she responded, sprinting away as fast as she could. The Stark Tower was not that far, but she intended to catch a ride again. She jumped, and easily knocked out another Chitauri before stealing its chariot. The sea of enemies were spreading throughout the city, and it was a wonder whether several of them could keep up with these continuous stream of aliens.

But Inertia was prevented from reaching her destination when a chariot hurdled her off her vehicle. She crashed into one of the buildings. She skidded to a halt and saw her assaulter, a random Chitauri. No, make that _three_ Chitauris.

Inertia stepped back cautiously, knowing she had no weapon against them. _No. I have a weapon against them._ It was unwise to use her awakened powers instantly without proper training, but she had little choice. Without further hesitance, Inertia swept her hand across the floor. Spikes of ice burst from the ground, penetrating the first Chitauri on its chest. Inertia breathed heavily. _Not bad for a first time._

She hurdled the other Chitauris, grabbing its head and concentrating her energy on it. Its skull immediately froze, creating a perfect ice sculpture. She was both impressed and terrified by her powers, but currently that was not the matter. The headache was coming again, and she learnt that if she keeps up she would split her head open. Thus, for her last opponent, she merely took its weapon, and blasted its head off with its own gun.

"Guys, I might need a ride," she reported. As she made her way towards the windows, she coincidentally saw Natasha coming closer on a chariot.

" _Got you,"_ Natasha replied. Inertia nodded and jumped away, landing softly onto Natasha's chariot. She must have noticed her eyes, though she thankfully did not say anything. Inertia averted her attention to Stark Tower. Loki was swirling around the buildings, guarding it from any intruders.

"Change of plans," Inertia said. "I'll distract Loki, you get to the portal."

"Roger," Natasha happily accepted. Inertia nodded and braced herself. She waited for the right moment before they faced each other, eye to eye, and she lunged at him. Loki widened his eyes as Inertia hurdled him to Stark Tower, crashing hard on the floor. Loki landed several feet away from her, grunting and cursing.

Inertia immediately stood up and raised her gun. Loki had lost his sceptre, it appears, but she did not lower her guard. Her eyes were still red then, she knew, for Loki widened his eyes when he saw them.

"You… You are a Jotun as well," remarked Loki, his breath hitching. Inertia did not respond, remaining tranquil in her silence.

"I am and I am not," Inertia curtly declared. She held her gun closer to Loki's neck. "Now you listen. You need to stop the portal before anything worse happens. You can still fix your wrongs, Loki."

Loki saw her eyes turning a warm bronze. Was she the same like him? A giant born weaker than the others, thrown away because of her vulnerability. Then why to Earth? None could access Midgard except through the Bifrost, which had been under Asgard's watch since the beginning of time. And how could she keep her identity hidden for those long years, away from the peering eyes of Heimdall?

"Loki, please," she pleaded. "I am running out of time."

"I—"

Out of nowhere, Hulk crashed into the building. Inertia flinched and whirled, expecting an enemy. She was not relieved either when she saw it was Hulk, for suddenly it marched forward and snatched Loki's leg. Inertia jolted back as Hulk slammed Loki repeatedly to the ground, beating his soul out of him.

"Hulk, stop!" she barked. Instantly, he stopped, and looked at Inertia. Loki wheezed on the cratered ground, unable to speak. She sighed and dropped her rifle. His and her talk would come later, it seemed. She glared at Hulk admonishingly. He cowered under her gaze.

Inertia walked towards the beaten Loki. She knelt beside him. "Look how many people you've killed" she said. "You may be the God of Mischief, Silver Tongue, and a warrior of Asgard, but I am sure your conscience, even the smallest bit of it left, is speaking to you right now."

Loki merely looked at her. His gaze was no longer wild, softening in every second that passed. It was as if all the actions he had taken was not of his own. "Tell me how to close the portal," she whispered.

Loki hesitated. When she said those words, the part where there was still a small part of his moral conscience remaining, he could not help but reflect. It was as if she believed in him with every bit of her heart. There had been no one who still believed in him, other than his own brother. But he could not forgive his brother after stealing everything from him, the love of his father, the acceptance of others, and power.

 _Power, and acceptance._ For long he had always craved the former, the only thing he believed which would equal him to Thor, the reason for all his schemes. But now he slowly realised that all along he had only wanted acceptance from the others, the acknowledgement that he was the same as them.

Thus, when came the time when he met his equal, someone from the same race as him, everything he had sought after began falling apart.

" _Please."_

"I am sorry," Loki whispered, his voice wavering. "But I do not know."

Inertia widened her eyes, hopelessness marring her face. She sank her face to her palm, as if she was hurting. "Shit," she cursed vaguely. She grimaced and grunted, her other hand grabbing her head. Hulk tilted its head slightly, stepping in closer. It glared at Loki accusingly, but Loki could no longer move to escape this monster.

Inertia did not move for a long moment, gritting her teeth. Loki sensed something wrong with her inner energy. It was as if a storm was brewing inside, an uncontrollable surge of energy ready to blow up. He could literally feel her head _throbbing_ in pain. Something was wrong with her, not because he could not give her a satisfying answer, but because of something else.

The air suddenly descended. Frost build up below her feet and cold filled the room.

 _She's losing it,_ Loki realised. _She has just discovered her powers and she cannot control it just yet._ Hulk stepped back, fearing the woman even with its relentless recklessness. Inertia's breath hitched, the energy within her continuing to build up. The frost began spreading across the room quickly, sending Hulk towards the windows. Loki observed that her powers were gnawing her energy and not the energy from her surroundings. _At this rate she's going to kill everyone, and herself._

"Help," she gasped, unable to move. He flinched, shaken by the desperation in her voice. None could help her in this room. Other than himself.

With no hesitation, Loki forced himself to rise up and reached for her hand, receiving the brunt force of the coldness. His skin turned blue upon contact with hers, and for a moment she loosened.

"Breathe," he instructed, writhing in pain himself. Inertia slowly lifted her head and looked at him. He gripped her hand firmer as a form of conviction. "Let it go slowly."

And she did. As the seconds passed by, the temperature rose, and frost melted. She gathered her breath and exhaled a cloud of cold air. Loki released his grip immediately, and slunk back to the ground. She panted for a moment, returning her composure. She glanced at Loki, lying limply on the ground after the Hulk's terrible assault.

"I know you still have conscience within you," Inertia whispered. "Thank you." Just then, her comms buzzed to life.

" _I can close it,"_ Natasha said. " _Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!"_

Inertia's face shone with hope. "Copy. Do it!" she said.

" _No, wait,"_ Tony suddenly intervened.

" _Stark, these things are still coming,"_ Steve protested.

" _I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it."_

Inertia knew what the man was about to do. She rushed towards the window, and watched as Tony lifted the missile higher above the ground, towards the agape portal. "Stark, you cannot do this. You will kill yourself."

He did not reply. Inertia could only stand still in horror as she observed Tony's armour flying into the portal. There was a moment of tense silence, in which all waited for the results of Tony's endeavor. An explosion burst in outer space, destroying the battalion of Chitauris and their spaceships.

"Wait," Inertia told Natasha. And they waited, the first, second, third, fourth count. Tony did not return back. He had failed.

" _Close it,"_ said Steve. Natasha plunged the sceptre into the heart of the device, closing the portal slowly. Inertia's remained glued onto the closing portal, still hoping for a miracle.

And a miracle indeed happened.

Just moments before the portal closed, Tony flew through the gap and came back to Earth. Inertia let out a small laughter, disbelieving what she was seeing. " _Son of a gun!"_ Steve said. But the slow moment of joy immediately transformed into a terrifying fear, for Tony continued to descend at the very same speed.

"Somebody catch him!" ordered Inertia. Below, she saw Thor preparing himself to catch Stark, but out of a sudden Hulk leapt behind her. He jumped to the air, snatching Tony accurately with his large hands. But he had nowhere to land on.

"Hulk!" she screamed. She reached for him and created a strong pull using her powers, attracting Hulk back to the building. Hulk met the walls of the tower with a loud crash, before sliding down in a series of broken glass. Inertia leapt down, pushing the ground to slow herself down. Hulk laid down Tony on the road, slapping away his broken mask. Inertia landed and rushed towards Tony, checking his vitals immediately after reaching him. Thor and Steve instantly joined her.

"He's not breathing," she said in dismay. Suddenly the Hulk roared and beat Tony's chest. Tony jolted awake and gasped for air, his eyes widened in shock and glanced at the greeting faces.

"What the hell"? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me," Tony frantically said. Steve and the others smiled amusingly.

"We won," Steve declared. Inertia scoffed, then sighed, slumping to the ground. The headache was still beating her head, but the thrill over their victory against a battalion of aliens recovered her slightly.

"Alright, hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. You ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it," Tony rapped.

"We're not finished yet," Thor interjected, with a frown.

"Yes, we still have Loki to apprehend and the Tesseract _and_ the sceptre to collect," Inertia explained, with a sigh.

"And then shawarma after?" asked Tony.

"Sure," Steve said. "Let's go."

Thor extended a hand towards Inertia. She produced a small smile and accepted it, pulling herself up. "I still have a lot to explain to you all," she told them.

"That, can come later," Thor said. "For now, let us finish our task."

She nodded and patted her trousers. They had succeeded in saving the world, and everything would be fine for the moment. At least, for the Avengers and Earth itself. For her, she did not know. And as she looked up at the sky, waiting for something which had not arrived yet, she could only expect the worst.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! First of all, I am so sorry for delaying the posting of this chapter due to busy schedule. I am apparently back in Singapore after that short holiday and unfortunately have not been productive during the hols. But do not worry, this story will continue on as long as I am alive. Secondly, as much as I wanted to write the battle of New York into several chapters, I just couldn't. Part of it was my lack of creativity's fault and another part was how action filled the battle was and how terrible I am in writing fighting scenes. BUT, as a consolidation, I present to you: Ase's true power. Sure enough, I think you guys can already figure out her true heritage, which will be revealed in the next chapter.

Lastly, thank you again for being so loyal to this story. My email has been filled with several more favourites so thank you for that! I hope you have enjoyed the story so far, and leave your thoughts if you want. I'll see you in the next chapter!


	11. 0109: I Am Ase

Shawarma is a type of sandwich which was similar to kebab, she supposed. She had never encountered it before in her journeys, perhaps because she does not care for the taste of food as long as it keeps her alive. There was too much for her to worry about food. The shawarma on her plate, still untouched and warm, certainly looked delicious, but she could not bring herself to eat it at the current situation.

They were now in the shawarma shop which Tony had recommended, silently celebrating their hard-earned victory whilst Fury dealt with Loki temporarily. The shop keepers were sweeping the floor in silence, not even once glancing at the illegal gathering taking place. The United Nations was not pleased with their performance in New York, nevertheless their accomplishment in protecting Earth. They said they had wrought much destruction upon the city and to its citizens, but she knew that was far from true. They had in fact saved it and Earth from total annihilation. If she had the place, she would have fired her dissatisfaction to them, but unfortunately she was just an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who had no say in world building. But that could come later, she decided, because there was a more pressing matter at hand. She glanced at the others, who were indulging themselves in the delicacy. However, no matter how satisfied they were with their food, they could not help but fixate their eyes on Inertia.

Inertia fumbled with her fingers, then sighed. The time had come for all of them to know the truth. The dam storing her secrets could never last forever.

"I—"

Tony suddenly held out his hand, urging her to stop. "Wait, before you tell us anything about this inconspicuous past of yours," Tony intervened taking a gulp of his food. Inertia frowned and clenched her fists surreptitiously.

"You should know that you did a good job back there," Tony declared.

She was slightly, only slightly impressed by his praise. It brought down her adverse judgement over him just a few notches. Perhaps he was lying, but at least it was with good deeds. Thor pulled his chair closer, and Steve remained slouched on his back. It was like a storytelling session, really, with her being the mother and the others being the over-curious children. They were, she supposed, children to her eyes. They were young in the lifespan of her race.

"Well, to start off, many of you know that I am not a human. Indeed, I am not a human." She paused, careful of choosing her words, then continued. "I am half-Asgardian, and half-Frost Giant."

Thor flinched when he heard of this truth. She did not blame him. A son of Frost Giant inside the Asgardian Court was plausible, but a hybrid between the two races who had spent hundreds of years battling each other was unheard of. The others merely stared at her in bemusement, for they did not know deeply about the two races. "My mother is a sorceress of Asgard, of the name Rhea. At least, that was what my guardian told me. She fought in the war against Jotunheim one thousand years ago."

"Rhea?" Thor asked, receiving a nod from Inertia. "She's currently the head of the sorcerers in Asgard, my mother's good friend."

"Indeed, that's what Elliot told me," Inertia said with a sneer. So that was what the woman doing right now, instead of fetching her daughter who had fought for her own life here. "She is the sorceress capable of controlling force, the most powerful sorcerer in Asgard. In the midst of the war, however, she was wounded, and separated from the Asgardian army. Such a great sorceress, isn't she?" She let out a imposing scoff, almost insane chuckle. She did not care now. "A Frost Giant found her, his name never revealed to anyone. He is not a fighter, but a healer in the ranks of the Frost Giants. As a healer he nursed her back to health, and magically the two of them fell in love."

Tony squirmed when he heard of this, and Steve glared at her. Natasha maintained her gaze at Inertia, not showing any judgement towards her. "In the end, Rhea had a baby with my father, and returned to the Asgardian army not knowing this. Odin ended the war with Jotunheim and they returned to Asgard. It was in Asgard that my mother discovered that she was with child."

"I am slightly confused by the Asgard and Jotunheim thing, but continue," remarked Steve.

"I will have Fury hand you some files on it later," Clint assured him. Natasha rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

"Guys, have you ever heard of the term respect?" she asked them. Clint stared at his table instantly, avoiding Inertias gaze.

"Before my birth, Rhea noticed that I am a child with great powers" Ase continued calmly. "She feared that my existence would be deemed a risk to Asgard's safety, so she arranged to move me somewhere else. When I was born, a surge of energy emerged along with me, and all of Asgard took notice. My mother ran away with me towards the Bifrost, and put Heimdall, the gatekeeper, to sleep for a moment. Then she escaped to Earth."

Her next words brought bitter memories, or feelings to be more precise. "In order to conceal my presence from the Asgardians, she put me to sleep for a thousand years and conjured a spell to lock my powers as a sorcerer and a half-Jotun," Inertia continued, then took a well-deserved break.

"Wait, so you're just trapped inside some random coffin as a baby for a millennia?" Tony chirped. "Dude, that is rather cruel of a mom."

Inertia did not say anything, wondering the same thing. She despised her mother for this, for abandoning her for hundreds of years without checking on her. People would assume it was a means of protecting her only child, who had powers so great she endangered all around her. She saw it differently. Perhaps Steve understood, even minutely, how she felt being locked in a cage forcefully, only to wake up as an innocent years later.

"A thousand years later, when peace had rather been maintained, my mother sent a friend of hers to raise me. He is by the name of Elliot on this Earth, an Asgardian who fought in the War of the Berserkers. Elliot raised me in a confined island where he taught me how to control my force powers, which was not as strong as now considering that most of my abilities were locked."

"I discovered my powers by and realised of my true heritage by accident. I left the small cottage at the age of 17 and went out to venture across the world, until I met S.H.I.E.L.D. The rest of the story is known."

There was a long deafening silence when she ended her story. Inertia waited in terrifying silence for their responses. She did not expect any overwhelming responses, not from them. Perhaps looks of judgement, for sitting before them was a living monster and Asgardian. She had shown them an incredible power, never seen before, perhaps not even in Asgard.

"Wow," Bruce whispered, which was not really bad as a first response. "To think that you are actually an Asgardian, a powerful one no less."

"So are you leaving?" asked Steve. "I mean, since your place of origin is Asgard, you should try going there once, no matter how reluctant you are." Inertia blinked in confusion, for she had never thought of coming to Asgard. Perhaps it was inevitable now, because she had unlocked her powers and took the attention of Heimdall no doubt. It was a wonder none from Asgard had come to her.

"Fury has promised to give the Tesseract to Thor, as we cannot handle it with our knowledge," Natasha explained to Thor. "And Loki too, because he is out of our bounds."

"I came here with the help of dark magic, which can only transport one person at a time. But with the Tesseract, it is possible for many people to go at once," Thor deduced, directing this hypothesis to Inertia. "I can bring you back to Asgard as well, Inertia."

Inertia scoffed inaudibly. "Do you think that a creature with this power," she paused, touching her shawarma and turning it into an ice sculpture," will be accepted by Odin, let alone Asgard?"

"If he does not, your mother will," Thor convinced her. "I know Rhea. Every time she sees Sif, she always talks about how she has wanted a daughter her age. I don't think she meant anyone else other than you."

She pursed her lips and gripped her knuckles. Deep inside, she wanted to meet her mother, the figure which had ensured her existence for thousands of years. But she also harboured an unjustified hatred against her, for leaving her without a mother on Earth, with a man who was not her real father. She had imagined her face ever since she could imagine, but Elliot had immediately told her that it was nearly impossible to see her mother face to face. Now the chance came, but she had lost that intense wish long ago.

Her hands trembled, and the frost from her shawarma spread slightly. She came upon another inevitable realisation. Even if I do not want to see her, I need someone to teach me how to control my powers, she thought. She had heard of a group of sorcerers who wandered the Earth, master of the mystic arts people describe them, but they were very selective in choosing apprentices. If her powers originated from the other realm, then perhaps it was best to seek a master from that place. If Rhea had been that great of a sorceress, then she could figure out how to teach her.

"I'll come," Inertia said heavily. "But once I've obtained the answers I am looking for, I am leaving."

"It would be easier if the Bifrost has been repaired using the Tesseract," Thor explained. "That way, you can back in a safer manner."

"Fine, as you please," Inertia said. Then she remembered something, and her sombre face became darker and solemn. She took out a bloodied card she had held on for quite some time, something she had intended to give Coulson for his birthday. "But first, I need to do something."

oOo

The funeral was simple and ordinary. Only several of his closest friends came, in the midst of the chaos after the Battle of New York. For the first time in her life, she wore a black coat. She did not approach the grave until all the grievers had dispersed away from the site. He had a wife, she had just discovered, who was a cellist. She could not bring herself to say condolences to her after so much which had happened. He had died to save her, and it surged her with terribly feeling of guilt. The Devil could never cry for a Saint.

Poetically, the sky cried upon the earth. The crowd began walking away, leaving the grave lonely and cold. She walked towards the grave slowly and knelt beside it. Fury and other agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would come later, she presumed, and she was grateful for it. With accompaniment, she would only get a feeling of uneasiness and sense of insecurity.

She reminisced the moments she had spent with Coulson. Remorsefully, she thought of how she had taken his kindness for granted. She, despite seeing him as a father figure more than anyone, could not fully trust him. He would always see him as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., first and foremost, but when she realised he had come to the detention centre to save her, and not to stop Loki, she broke down into regret.

"I am sorry I gave you so much trouble," she whispered painfully. "I am sorry I could not appreciate your kindness better."

She fumbled with her pocket and took out the card, which she had painstakingly cleaned and placed in a box. She laid it in front of his tombstone, a picture of vintage Captain America giving a cheer to anyone who saw it. "Rest in peace, Coulson," she said, standing up. The rain was heavy enough to splash the soil and splutter dirt to Coulson's tombstone. She sighed and closed her eyes. A dome of force field built up above her, protecting the gravesite from further disturbance.

Someone approached her from behind. She cautiously whirled around and prepared to attack the assaulter but was instead shocked to death when she saw the intruder none other than Elliot. He was wearing a vest and a long-sleeved shirt. In his hands was an umbrella, an old model which he had always favoured. He had not changed since the last time she had seen him, which was roughly fifty years ago. But his job as a college lecturer had certainly changed his fashion style, not his face. Ordinary people could only see a teacher, but she still saw him as a warrior.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, not believing what she was seeing. "Italy has been a bore to you?"

"After what I've seen in the TV, Thor smashing his way through particularly, I decided to come and make sure you're alright," Elliot reasoned.

"Oh, I am certainly fine, Elliot," she chuckled. "I received some wounds, yes, but I am still alive—" She paused, touching her abdomen, where a very small scar was resting on her skin. "Do… you know Loki?"

Elliot blinked, suspicious of where she had obtained this curiosity. "Yes, I know him. He was a little prince once and had a sort of internship in the army. Everyone knows him well as a mischievous prince."

"Then do you know his true story?"

"What true story?"

"That he is a Jotun."

Elliot widened his eyes and pursed his lips. "No, certainly not. Where did you know this?"

"He told me himself," she explained. She looked upon the sky, in which the dark clouds were dissipating. "I am coming to Asgard with Thor and the apprehended Loki. I… don't really understand why I want to go there. There is curiosity over that realm, but also despise. There has been many which I have learnt about my home, most of them not good, but eye-opening."

"Asgard… is definitely not the most humane society," Elliot added, stepping closer. "Like all kingdoms and countries existing in the worlds, there is cruelty, injustice, corruption, conspiracy, and secrecy. We have done obscene things just to maintain peace, but we have done that for a greater good."

She was sure he was reminiscing the incident of the Berserker Staff, the weapon which could awaken the inner wildness of each warrior and pushing his capabilities to the limit. Loki had never told her clearly, but she was sure the reason why Odin adopted an enemy of his as a son was to maintain peace as well. All these things, in addition to the fact that they had been turning blind eye from Earth's problems, had tipped her perception towards the kingdom. But Elliot's words certainly influenced her pessimism.

"Whatever you do there, whatever Odin will try to convince you and persuade you, never lose your own ideals," Elliot advised her sternly. "You are a unique kind of person, Ase. Unwavering under pressure and control, always firm to your beliefs. But follow the rules there, for you are always unwelcomed in that kingdom."

"Years of lecturing do take toll to your speech," Ase joked. She flicked her hands and brushed all the raindrop accumulating the force field away, before withdrawing her powers completely. "I think… your advice will be useful later."

"I am sure it will," Elliot remarked. "Oh look, a rainbow," he chirped. Ase smiled and observed the multicoloured stream on the skies, which were as blue as the sea after the heavy rain. "How long are you staying?" Elliot asked again.

"I don't know," Ase answered. "But not long enough for you to forget me."

At this, Elliot merely smirked.

oOo

Everyone was there, from Tony Stark to Dr. Selvig. Apparently, they wanted to say goodbye to the first God they had ever seen, and to the God which had caused all the problems in their world. Thor shook his hand with each of his comrades, then lastly hugged Selvig. Selvig patted his back affectionately and pulled away from him.

"You better take good care of this," Tony said as he took out the Tesseract from a solid confinement box. "I will kill you if I ever see this thing on Earth again." Tony handed the Tesseract, placed inside a glass tube, to Thor's hands.

"I promise it will be in good hands," Thor assured him. "I hope that you can hand up Loki's Sceptre also in the future."

"That, we cannot do, I am afraid," Natasha retorted. "Unlike the Tesseract, which is obviously uncontrollable, S.H.I.E.L.D. deems the sceptre as a safer object to research. You won't get it anytime sooner."

"Just, make sure you take good care of that," Thor said. "Or you're going to get more thunderstorms in the future."

"Science is going to figure that out," Bruce remarked. Thor scoffed and held the glass tube on its other end and forced Loki to hold the other. They did not teleport themselves instantly, however, and instead waited for something.

What are you waiting for? Loki asked sharply through his gaze. Natasha checked her comms, then nodded.

"She's here," she reported. All of them turned around and saw the awaited woman, carrying her staff and a small rucksack with her. She had changed her attire slightly, leaning towards darker grey for her jacket and her shirt.

"Inertia," greeted Thor. Loki widened his eyes upon seeing her, clearly not informed yet of her involvement.

"Not Inertia. That name is way too old for me," she remarked. She stopped momentarily and scanned all the Avengers. She had only met them for a brief moment in her life, but there had already been a strong connection among them. It was regretful she had to leave them.

"It's Ase," she declared. "My name is Ase."

"That's a pretty name," Clint said, pulling her to a hug. "Take care of yourself there. Don't return to me as some kind of a goddess."

"No, I won't," she assured him. "Stay safe, don't do anything reckless. Natasha won't be as kind as I." Clint chuckled and retreated back, receiving a smirk from Natasha.

"Ase," Steve said, stepping forward. "Thank you, for being yourself back then."

Ase quirked a little smile. Of all, this man had given her the most courage to step out of her hiding place and brace herself against her inevitable destiny. She knew Earth would be safer in his hands. "Thank you too," she said curtly.

"Let us go," Thor urged her. She nodded to all of her comrades and walked to Thor and Loki. Loki assessed her for a moment. He appeared as if he wanted to speak, but the muzzle covering his mouth prevented him from doing so.

"I will explain to you later," she whispered, taking the edge of the glass tube beside Loki. She drew a deep breath and braced herself. This was the moment which she had been waiting for hundreds of years. The moment where she would enter her estranged home, and leave the planet which had always been her home.

She gazed at the horizon of Earth once more, seeing the rebuilding of New York and the tiny speck of Stark's tower. In her eyes she also saw Elliot, and the small cottage where they had previously lived.

Then Thor spun the glass tube, and a blast of light filled her vision. She felt her body levitating into the air, and the sight of Earth completely disappeared.

* * *

 **A/N: I am so so sorry for not publishing for a month? Or weeks or so. Firstly, because this term is a very hectic one. You can imagine school going to me at the start of the term and like "Suprise!" and throwing heaps of homework and exams at me. Yes, and even during holidays I have 3 projects going on yoo hoot!**

 **Anyway, this chapter marks the end of the first arc. The second arc is titled Home, and will take place during Thor: the Dark World. I am crafting another side story for this one to develop the chemistry between Loki and Ase. Speculate all you want, because the true story does not deviate too far from the title. Ase's mother will also debut in this arc, and things are going to be difficult for them.**

 **That's it for this chapter. I will see you in hopefully a week's time and I hope you have nice time ahead (surely nicer than mine.)**


	12. 0201: Asgardian Judgement

**PART 2: HOME**

 _"Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and greet each other."_

 _Rainer Maria Rilke_

oOo

For a moment she closed her eyes, apprehension bubbling in her heart as her body continued to be lifted in the air by some unseen force. Then she mustered up a courage to open them, and saw blindingly beautiful colours of light, streaming like a river upwards. Loki glanced at her, seeing all the radiant hues reflected off her eyes. She certainly looked like an innocent child at that moment, and all his anxiety for what would wait him in his kingdom perished for a second.

The scene flashed away as they regained their footing. Ase was greeted with a view of the shore, with a dark-skinned man, who was holding a sword. waiting before them. She immediately knew who he was, from his ethereal eyes which seemed as if they were peering into her soul.

"Heimdall," greeted Thor with a smile. A dizziness disturbed Ase, perhaps because of the overwhelming mode of travel. Heimdall pulled out his sword from the centre, assessing his visitors mindfully. He scrutinised Ase from head to toe, then to her staff. She stiffened upon his gaze and lowered her eyes.

"Thor," Heimdall acknowledged him. "The King has awaited you and your companions. You shall proceed to the palace immediately."

Thor nodded and gestured Ase to follow him. Hesitantly, she followed his steps, passing the Watcher of Worlds with cautious eyes. The Rainbow Bridge Elliot had told her was not in sight, much to her confusion. A gargantuan palace stood at the city's centre, reaching to the skies like a mountain. Her skin shivered, for she sensed an incredible energy lingering in the air. It was resonating with her, while alien at the same time.

"Welcome to Asgard," Thor presented to her. But Ase's amazement was merely momentary, for she remembered her purpose of being there. Loki stared at his home kingdom in melancholy, and she could only sympathise with his fate. Who knows what would await him before the throne, before his so-called adopted father.

"I will protect you from any unfriendly threats here, Ase," assured Thor. "Even if it means facing my father."

"You do not have to do that, Thor," she told him sharply. "Asgard has lost many, and it certainly does not need another lost prince."

Loki flinched at her words and she wished she could have taken it back. Several guards awaited them at the edge of the bridge, all of them cautiously glaring at Loki. Loki merely smiled back and remained nonchalant as the guards ushered them towards the palace. They walked through the streets of Asgard. People stared at them, or to be correct, at Ase. They should have cheered for Thor's return and booed for Loki's arrival, no doubt, but it seemed her presence there deterred them from saying anything silly.

The palace appeared more menacing up close, the grand structure towering them and shadowing them with holy darkness. Three men awaited them, all garbed in battle armour. A beautiful lady wearing a breastplate stood in front of them. A warrior, she seemed, with stern eyes and determined gaze. Ase deduced they were important people, for not random person could stare at the prince of Asgard so openly.

"Thor! Welcome back!" barked the largest man. He gave Thor a brotherly embrace and grinned. The other members of the welcoming party merely stared in awe.

"Alright, that's enough," Thor suggested, beaming awkwardly. The man let him down, then glowered at Ase.

"Who is this woman?" asked he. Ase raised a brow, for she sensed no hostility from him. Perhaps he had not been told of her circumstances in coming here. Thor pulled Ase to his side and exposed her to the welcoming troupe.

"Everyone, this is Ase. She was my comrade back in Earth," explained Thor, careful not to reveal anything more about her identity. Ase gave them an acknowledging bow. "Ase, these are the Warriors Three. Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg," he continued, pointing at each of his friend. Hogun was a solemn man, she deduced, with a sharp gaze and an attentive face ready to respond any chaos. Volstagg radiated a brutish charm from his gigantic appearance. He was a typical barbarian, she presumed, though perhaps a principled barbarian at that. Lastly she looked at Fandarl, and the first thought coming to her mind was that he was a womaniser. End of story.

"Heimdall told us that you are bringing back a guest, but we certainly did not expect you to be so… beautiful," said Fandral slowly in a controlled voice. Her assumptions were immediately proven correct. Thor chuckled at his friend's futile advances.

"Unfortunately that does not work for my friend here, Fandral. She is just like Sif and the first thing she does when facing a foreigner is to glare at them," Thor said.

"I have met too many strangers," Ase replied bluntly. Fandral blinked in bemusement and then let out a small laughter.

"I guess you are different than most ladies, Lady Ase," Fandral said. The other lady cleared her throat just then, snatching their attentions.

"My name is Sif, for your information," she introduced herself stiffly. "I am the comrade of these silly men. It is a pleasure to meet you, Ase."

"It is also mine," said Ase. When she saw Sif, she saw the reflection of herself—a figure of absolute firmness and conviction. A woman who was not bent to the bids of men.

"Come. The King has been awaiting you all," Sif urged them.

Ase obediently followed as the three led them inside the palace. All the while, Loki's presence remained insignificant to the others. The palace was greater in the inside, embellished by statues and ornaments of gold and bronze. The ceilings were carved with the glorious battles of Asgardians in the past, and as she scanned them, her bronze eyes stopped at a particular panel. Frost giants battled Asgardian in a war which had brought both their destruction.

"Ase?" Thor asked when he saw her stopping. He joined her gaze and frowned. Loki too, paused, and observed the horrendous depiction.

"There is never a justified war. I realised that too late," Thor remarked darkly.

"I wonder what would you all do if you had known the future," Ase added.

The guards opened the doors to the throne room with a loud creak. Ase hid herself behind Thor from the numerous people lining the main walkway. They were those with armour and badges, capes and swords, all bearing the same authoritative look on their faces. _High-ranking officers,_ Ase thought as she walked past them. Their eyes were focused on Loki, who tried his best to maintain his gleeful attitude for his impending judgement. Ase scanned the crowd briefly, trusting whatever her assessing skills could give her to find any sign of her mother. None of the crowd gave any sign.

At the centre of the room stood Odin, King of Asgard, and his wife Frigga. Ase knew from how Thor bowed to them in a familial manner. "Father, I have returned," said Thor calmly.

"Welcome back," Odin said, directing his greetings to Loki as well—although with a different motive. "You have done a great job back in Midgard, my son. I am proud of you."

The tension in the air was stifling, even for Thor. This was not a moment of joy. Odin then turned to Ase, who stood in there like a bull in a china shop. It was obvious now that she was both an Asgardian and not one. Her tall stature and blonde hair was a proof of this, but her pale skin and generally cold demeanour was not. "I welcome you as well, Lady Ase. We have much to discuss, and I come to you… after I settle an _important_ matter." He gazed at all his audience and drew a deep breath. "I would like to discuss this in private. The rest of you please leave."

As his subjects were leaving, Odin's eyes darkened and his features slowly transformed into that of a merciless beast. Loki ignored him and instead turned to his mother.

"Loki," said Frigga.

"Hello… mother. Have I made you proud?" Loki asked with a smirk, though his usual cheerfulness was lost from his voice. Frigga shook her head and pursed her lips.

"Please, don't make this worse," she pleaded bitterly.

"Define worse," Loki shot back.

"Enough!" Odin warned. "I will speak to the prisoner alone."

Frigga sighed and left the throne room quietly. Thor tapped Ase's shoulder and gestured her to follow him outside. She wanted to refuse, for there was more to Loki's crimes than just his desire for the throne. Their short conversation in the detention room had changed her perceptions of him. He was no ordinary villain with blind ambitions. No, he was more than that. But she could do nothing to help him at this moment of time. Thus she relented and tailed Thor out of the room.

Loki glanced at Ase's disappearing figure as the door behind him closed. Ever since she joined the journey to Asgard, he could never stop thinking about her. What had been her purpose in coming here? From the battle in New York, he knew she was truly not human. She was a Jotun and that explained her vast knowledge of the race. But then, if she is connected with Asgard, then perhaps she is half- Asgardian herself. Last question remained: Why did she stay on Earth when she was part Asgardian?

"Have you realised the gravity of your crimes?" Odin's voice snapped him out of his train of thoughts. Loki had no interest in this. He knew the consequences—either death or lifetime imprisonment. But he mustered his smirk nevertheless. "Wherever you go there is war, ruin and death."

"I went down to Midgard to rule the people of Earth as a benevolent god. Just like you," Loki reasoned.

"We are not gods. We are born, we live, we die. Just as humans do."

"Give or take 5000 years," interjected Loki.

"All this because Loki desires a throne."

 _No. It is not,_ Loki told himself, but revealing his true feelings would mean his lost to this stupid egotistical fake father. "It is my _birthright,"_ he instead continued.

"Your birthright was to _die_ as a child! Cast out onto a frozen rock. If I had not taken you in you would not be here now to hate me," shouted Odin.

"Then why did you take me in the first place? If you were intelligent enough then you must have known that your plan would not work," Loki shot back. "If I am for the axe, then for mercy's sake, just swing it. It's not that I don't love our little talks, it's just… I don't love them."

"Frigga is the only reason you are still alive and you will never see her again. You will spend the rest of your days in the dungeons."

 _There you go,_ Loki thought. He had expected nothing more. But who cares if Frigga would visit him or not? He was no longer her son, after all. A Frost Giant remains a Frost Giant, and a Frost Giant cannot be loved by an Asgardian. He no longer had anyone who loves him. Not a single one.

"And what of Thor? You'll make that witless oaf king while I rot in chains?" asked Loki.

"Thor must strife to undo the damage you have done. He will bring order to the nine realms and then, yes, he will be kin."

Loki spoke no further. If this was his fate then so be it. If death could not be given to him, then he would wait and watch the Asgardian burn themselves in their own faults. As he was taken away from Odin's sight, through the ominous doors of the hall, he found himself confronting Thor and Ase once more. Her eyes met his, and for that moment he realised she knew what had happened. She had always been sharper than the others.

"I am sorry," she said in his thoughts. He could not understand why she said that, for she owed him no wrongs. Only when he arrived in his cell and dwelled in his loneliness did he realise that it was not from an enemy to an enemy. Her words was from kin to kin.

oOo

A moment after Loki's departure, Ase was called upon by Odin. Thor was not asked to come, thus he could only gave her an encouraging nod. She took a deep breath before she entered, facing one on one with the mighty king. _Mighty,_ she pondered as she stood before him and bowed deeply. There was no one inside the room, and Ase doubted now whether she would obtain the answers she needed right that instance.

"I assume you know of my true identity?" she asked him without further thought.

"Yes. Heimdall has told me everything he saw," Odin started. "It was such a wonder how you have managed to veil your presence all these years. Heimdall's eyes are foolproof. He can see all the things in the nine realms."

"Then you must have known that I am a daughter of a sorceress, yes?" Ase asked him again. "It turns out I am not entirely a Frost Giant after all." She took one step forward and reaffirmed her gaze. Let the people call her disrespectful. She would not hesitate in obtaining answers.

"Where is my mother?"

Odin took a deep breath as he stepped down from his throne. He nodded to the guards and they subsequently left them alone in their conversations. "She is here, alive and well. She has been expecting you ever since you have broken the spell. But before you meet her, you should understand—"

"That all she ever does is for my own good? Please," Ase interrupted sharply. "I have had enough lies. I can judge that on my own."

"Then you should know that part of her decision was my fault," Odin continued. "I was still foolish back then, unable to accept the fact that our people can live in peace. Look what it brought to us."

"You lied to Loki, I've heard," Ase added on his accord. "You hid his true heritage for hundreds of years and that resulted in a chaos in Asgard."

"And Jotunheim," Odin included grimly. " _And_ Jotunheim. Loki unleashed the full power of the Bifrost in order to prove himself worthy as a king. He nearly destroyed Jotunheim as a result."

Ase could not believe what he had said, for many reasons. Firstly, she now understood how heartbroken Loki had been when he knew of his heritage. He must have hated his own kin. Secondly, the half-destruction meant only one thing: the chances of her finding her father had become slim. She had had the intention to search for her father, the being Elliot had always spoken highly of. The only Jotun worth of saving. That desire had multiplied tenfold when she was offered to come to Asgard. But it appears that hope had been lost a long time ago.

Yet, no matter how hard Ase tried to despise Loki for nearly destroying Jotunheim, she could not bring herself to. For he was not a villain without a reason. He had gone through so much and she had known many people who would do terrible things after losing what they cherished. She had seen him revealing his true nature, his vulnerability—all of which showed he was far from a mad psychopath.

 _There is a thin gap between heroes and villains in this world._

"I come here for my mother, not for Loki," she demanded tersely. "Now if you are being honest with me, I should be able to see her now—"

One of the doors was opened with a deafening bang. Ase whirled around to see their new visitor. In an instant, she saw the reflection of herself. A woman, dressed in a cloak, stood before her. Her braided golden hair was a shade brighter than her own, and her cheekbones were strong like hers. She was beautiful beyond imagination, and her bronze eyes were peering deep into her own.

Ase greeted her own mother with a cold gaze. "Lady Rhea," Odin said. "We have been waiting for you."

Rhea cared not for Odin and instead glued her attention to Ase. She could see disbelief carved on her eyes. Ase assessed herself, then her mother, then back to herself. They were the embodiment of each other, yet as different as the day and night.

"Ase," Rhea whispered. Ase shuddered. That voice was exactly as she had dreamt repeatedly for fifty years, the voice which would have welcomed her back home. Yet those fifty years had been grim and her heart had hardened. She was waiting for this inevitable yet despicable moment for a millennia.

Odin, sensing the ominous atmosphere growing, decided wisely to take a step back and leave the space for the reunion. "Ase, is that you?" asked Rhea. Ase clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

"Yes, it is me, _mother._ Your long lost daughter," Ase spat.

"After all these years—"

" _Where_ have you been?" Ase snapped. Her voice echoed in the hall, leaving ghostly sounds which sent shivers down Rhea's spine.

"I am very sorry, my child," Rhea slowly explained. "Leaving you on Midgard…It was the only choice I had left."

"What? Leaving me in that darkness for one thousand years?" Ase cried. "Leaving an infant who knew nothing of the world she was in, only to be awoken by a stranger? Where were you when I woke up?" The ground slightly trembled as her anger blasted the air. Rhea's face sank and beads of grief began forming at the edge of her eyes.

"Ase. I did that to protect you. Elliot should have told you how despicable Asgard could be towards their enemies back then!"

"Oh, so now I was the enemy?" Ase shot back. She took a hitched breath and chuckled. "An infant who could do nothing was the enemy? Now I understood why Loki hated this kingdom so much!"

"Ase!" Rhea reminded. "That is not your place to say—"

"No, it is entirely _my_ place to say!" Ase retorted acutely. "You see, mother, I am _quite_ disappointed as your daughter. A daughter of the 'most powerful sorceress'. The sorceress who could not even hide her presence to visit her lonely daughter in Midgard and give her hugs and kisses. Do you know what I felt when I discovered not my mother when I opened my eyes?" Ase could feel a cold air brewing under her feet.

Rhea could find no words to utter when she saw the floor beneath Ase cracking and tearing apart into frozen glaciers. Not only the floor, but the ceiling as well. Her eyes were drenched in blood, the scarlet of a Jotun's eyes. Terror brimmed in Rhea, not because of her daughter's immense power, but because what she was doing to herself. She had not learnt how to draw magic from her surroundings or the alternate universes, which had caused her exhaustion back in the Battle of New York. At this rate of over-consuming her own life energy, she could ultimately destroy her vessel and kill herself. "Ase, at this rate you are going to hurt yourself," she told her calmly, trying to conjure any spells which could stop her daughter. But Ase, like herself, was a powerful sorceress, and Rhea found—much to her horrors—all her spells being rebounded.

Ase could not dam her emotions back anymore and, in the final waves of her anger, she spoke, "I have been eternally injured since you left me, mother."

It was just then that Ase realised what she had done. She glanced up, towards the iced ceiling, and widened her eyes. Rhea watched as the ice magically dissipated to nothing, along with a gentle breeze rushing towards Ase's figure. But the pain she was experiencing did not disappear. The guilt of leaving her daughter on Midgard had been piercing her heart for hundreds of years, but only now did she realise how agonising it was. _What have I done?_

"Ase," Rhea pleaded. "Please. Give me time to right my wrongs."

Deep inside, Ase wished to say yes. To forgive her mother and finally feel the warmth of her mother, a figure she had never had in her life. But there was a burden in her soul which had not been removed, an aching hatred that dragged her down. It was still dragging her down.

"I am sorry," Ase whispered, turning away. "I should not have come here."

"Ase, no—"

But Ase could no longer hear a thing. Her senses were numb, so numb she could not feel the bleeding palm from her clenched fingers.

 **A/N: Hello guys! I am back! Exams are finally over and I can slightly breath (heuuhh) a breath of freedom. Anyways, this chapter is the beginning of the new arc, which takes place in Thor: the Dark World and will explore more deeply about Loki's and Ase's relationship, as well as Ase's and Rhea's mother-and-daughter connection. There will be a side story in this arc which moves away from the movie, but I am still kind of developing it.**

 **Regarding Ase and Rhea's confrontation, I feel like it is most fitting for her to disapprove her mom at first. To accept her mother the way she is was just not true to Ase's cold and stony-hearted character. She may feel antagonistic in a sense, but it is what I like about her. You will find that she is not exactly the most obedient character.**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading the chapter again. I hope you like it and I will see you next time.**


	13. 0202: The Unexpected Companion

It had been several days since Thor and his troupe returned to Asgard, yet nothing significant had happened. There was no celebration for Thor's comeback, nor explosive gossips in the pubs regarding Loki, or the secret theories regarding the woman tagging along. The truth behind the palace was not that interesting either. Shortly after his judgement by the king, Loki had been imprisoned in a secured cell deep inside the palace, where no one except several persons could enter. That several persons were Thor, Odin, and strangely Ase herself. Sif had long pondered of the decision to allow Ase inside the prison, particularly because she was merely someone from Midgard.

Thus, when Thor had divulged in her that Ase had managed to make Loki talk—without his twisted lies and words—Sif finally understood why. Yet, Ase had not visited Loki since her first day in Asgard, for reasons unknown to anyone except herself and Odin. Thor himself was spared from the secret conversation between the woman and the king, and instead was assigned to deepen his studies regarding Asgard for his future coronation as king. Odin would not take any more chances with his last heir in screwing up his reign.

But of course, knowing Thor, Sif knew he would not survive long in the library. Thus, watching him killing himself under the heaps of books prepared by his own mother, Frigga, Sif and the Warriors Three decided to let him rest and dragged him to the training grounds.

"But… My mother will kill me," Thor defended, trying to prevent his friends from pulling him away from his studies. Fandrall merely laughed and tapped his shoulders gently.

"Deep down you know your own feelings, my friend. Let us take care of Queen Frigga. For now, we shall resume our interrupted training before you left!" Volstagg remarked.

"Studying for long hours will make your weapons rust, my friend," Hogun added calmly. "Who shall start first? I see Sif is burning to strike you with her mighty spear."

"Oh please. Your choice of words is making wrong implications," Sif said with a roll of her eyes. She abruptly stopped in the midst of her pace. "Wait. Someone is occupying the training grounds."

Thor looked up, filled with curiosity, and pulled himself to his feet. Sif narrowed her eyes and saw the intruder none other than Ase herself, training with her staff in her sleeveless shirt. Sunlight was streaming down the courtyard, providing a clear glance of the woman's figure. Awe washed over Sif as she observed the woman's movements. All of them were precisely calculated, none too strong none too weak, and her speed was out of question. She was training as if she was fighting an invisible man, and her concentration was not broken when the group entered the arena.

Sif had been known to be undefeatable in the arts of staff and spear, but as she watched Ase ending her moves with a sharp slap to the ground, Sif knew that Ase was more than capable of defeating her.

"Lady Ase," Fandrall began, his flirting side taking over, "It is a strange fate for us to find you here."

Ase did not reply. She wiped away her sweat and merely stared at them. Her gaze was empty and sad, hollow like a dying tree. _She has gone through something,_ Sif deduced. As she stole a glance from Thor, who squirmed when he saw Ase's state, she knew to" whom should she ask.

"Lady Ase, I did not know you play the staff," Sif continued as she approached her. Again, another silence. Something was happening with the woman. "May I have the honour to spar with you? It has been long since I have encountered a staff user like me."

Ase merely nodded and flipped her staff, returning to the centre of the battlefield. Sif summoned her spear and followed suit, mouthing to Thor that she would talk to him later. Sif positioned herself before Ase. Hogun offered himself as the referee and stood between them.

"According to my judgements, you two may be going all out for this match," Hogun started. "But please refrain from doing so. Especially since she's our guest."

Sif saw Ase twitching her brows upon the word 'guest', before Hogun marked the beginning of the match. Sif's spear met Ase's staff in a deafening blow, which shook the ground beneath them. Sif immediately knew Ase was not merely a human, perhaps with Asgardian-like blood, judging from her intense strength.

"Hey, no cheating, Ase!" Thor shouted. _Cheating?_ Sif mused.

"I am not," Ase curtly responded as she whirled and tried to assault Sif from the side. Sif blocked her staff just in time, but not without receiving the brunt of the blow. In a normal situation, Sif would not fear a bladeless staff. But currently, the ferocity of Ase's attacks had instilled fear in her against the blunt weapon.

Sif ducked and swiped Ase off her feet, successful in doing so. Ase widened her eyes in surprise, but in her outmost calm demeanour, she used the momentum of her fall to roll back from Sif's reach and observe the situation. Sif charged once more, this time choosing to jab Ase directly. Ase lifted her staff and diverted the attack, her movement strange to Sif. In fact, all movements, her techniques, they were alien to her. It appears people from Midgard are better fighters in certain terms.

Suddenly, Ase leapt off the ground, her jump too high to be regarded as normal. Sif raised her spear to block the attack towards her head, but to her surprise she found Ase's staff targeting another part of her body instead. Pain burst from Sif's left palm as Ase's staff found her mark true, and in an instant Sif lost her grip over her weapon. Ase landed smoothly next to her and without sparing another second, she struck Sif' other palm, rather too powerfully. Sif's spear met the ground with a series of clangs, and Ase's staff silently touched Sif's neck.

"The winner is Lady Ase," Hogun announced. The two women were panting, Sif observing Ase whilst the other merely stared at the ground. It seemed as if victory was nothing of concern to Ase. In fact, although Ase was physically present during the battle, she was mentally not. What was bothering her mind?

Sif grunted when the pain from her palms spread through her muscles. It was just then did Ase realise the impact of her attacks. "I am sorry," Ase plainly said.

"It is fine," Sif assured her, demonstrating her still-moving fingers. "Asgardians, remember? We recover more quickly than humans."

"Ah, I see," Ase muttered, helping Sif pick up her spear.

"Thor! Come! It has been a long time since we have sparred," Volstagg boomed, dragging Thor with him. Thor let out a nervous chuckle as he glanced to Ase. Ase did not pay heed to him.

"Something is bothering your mind," Sif finally spoke. "What is it?"

Ase did not reply and instead played with Sif's spear. "It is nothing of your concern," Ase coldly said.

"Well, now it is, because as far as I have seen, you were not present in our battle. If that continues, you can kill yourself in a real battle," Sif reasoned. Afar, Volstagg and Thor were screaming deafening battle cries. Ase twirled her spear and tapped its end against the ground.

"Tell me more… about Lady Rhea," Ase began slowly. Sif, for one, was surprised that Ase knew of the head of Court Sorcerers, Rhea. She had been informed by Heimdall to a large extent that their guest had the potential in magic before she came here and perhaps Rhea was one of the suitable candidates as her master. No, she was the _most_ suitable master in all of Asgard. Perhaps Thor had informed her of this.

"Well, she is a very powerful sorceress," Sif explained with a smile. "And a kind one. She has been a mother figure to me since my mother died of illness. I remember that all my dreams of becoming a warrior perished with her, until Rhea came. She supported me, just like my mother, and became my guardian while I trained in the palace."

"I see," Ase whispered. "It appears she is a loving mother." Her last words were sharp as a knife. Sif drew a deep breath.

"She has been telling me that she always wanted a daughter," Sif continued. "Whenever she looks at me, her eyes will gleam a strange light. Not a light of craving for something she doesn't have, but a glint of sadness over someone she has lost."

"You are saying she has lost someone? Like she has had a daughter before?" Ase asked, her voice low. Sif shrugged her shoulders.

"Rhea is never someone who is very open. She keeps secrets like all of us and never talks about them," Sif remarked. "But if she has indeed lost someone, then it is a very great loss indeed." Ase mourned the ground for a moment. Sif's suspicions were aroused, for this woman seemed to be very drawn towards Rhea. What was their connection between each other?

"I need to go," Ase abruptly spoke, handing the spear to her owner.

"Please, stay. We are planning to have lunch after this," pleaded Sif. A loud bang stole her attention and she shifted her eyes to the training grounds. Thor apparently had smothered the earth with his hammer and along with it, he threw Volstagg towards them. Sif could not react against Volstagg's imminent body in time, and readied for another painful blow. But it never arrived, for suddenly Volstagg was hovering mid-air, his body as if possessing no weight at all.

Sif widened her eyes and turned to Ase, who was extending a hand towards Volstagg. "Lady Ase, what are you doing?" Sif asked. But Ase did not respond and instead pulled her arm away, and at the same moment Volstagg crashed to the ground.

"I repeat, I have matters to attend to," said Ase politely. She bowed to all of them and in the midst of chaos. Fandrall and Hogun rushed towards Volstagg, who was cursing relentlessly for Thor's assault.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" asked Volstagg. Sif eyes did not leave Ase's back as the woman disappeared.

"I don't know," Sif said. "But I know that only one person has that kind of ability, and I shall talk to her now." Sif immediately paced away from the grounds without leaving another word. Volstagg and Fandrall gaped, dumbfounded.

"And when I thought nothing is going to be interesting," said Hogun, smirking. All of them smiled and helped Volstagg to his feet eagerly, except for the frowning Thor who was now worrying for Ase's wellbeing to the depths of his heart.

oOo

White was bleak and boring. There was nothing exciting about the colour. People perceived it was pure and clean, the colour of holiness and heaven, and it seemed fitting to be encasing a person with dark of heart inside. Was that really the symbolism and purpose of the colour of his prison?

"I wonder… if something will change if the colour is black," Loki muttered to himself. There was practically nothing in the prison, only a small opening where his food would come and the large window facing the hallway, where two guards stiffly stood and glared at him. He did not fear the feeling of being enclosed alone, but the boringness of prison life suffocated him out of his breath. He needed something to entertain him, anything as long as he could play with his mind.

A tap from the window brought him back from his silent ramblings. Loki looked at the guard on the other side. "You have a visitor," told the guard briefly. Loki blinked, confused, for there were only several people allowed to visit him he could think of. First was Odin, the man who had put him in this cage himself, and second was his dumb brother Thor. Frigga was out of question, because Odin had shown before he did not want anymore of his wife's involvement with their adopted son.

Thus, he was utterly rooted to the ground when before him appeared none other than Ase, cladded in a sleeveless white shirt which showed her pale sunburnt skin. She had just trained, he supposed, with her staff in hand. Why had she lingered here?

"Loki," Ase greeted as she disassembled her staff into its smaller fractions.

"Hello," Loki responded flatly. Ase looked over her shoulder, to the two spying guards behind her. She mouthed something he could not guess to them, and subsequently they departed from the prison hall. Miraculously, only two of them remained.

"You want to speak a private matter," Loki guessed, rising from his seat. He approached the window, and he towered her from his cell. She looked so small from above, but not equally fragile.

"Did you destroy Jotunheim?" she asked, her voice concealing no additional emotions. At this Loki flinched, memories flooding his conscience—the Bifrost bursting into a million colours, paving its way across the universe to annihilate Jotunheim once and for all; the fight with Thor, his fall towards infinite darkness; the cruel hands of the Mad Titan.

"Perhaps I did," Loki answered. She had learned too much in a short time.

"Then is it possible for me to still go there?"

Her next question left him baffled. Why did she want to go to that wretched world? Even he, a Jotun himself, despised the realm. What connection did she have with his homeland? A brief memory from the Battle of New York fluttered in—her bloodshot eyes, the clusters of crystals emerging from her hand.

"You are a Jotun," Loki whispered with a snicker. "Bloody. I did not see that coming."

"A half-Jotun, if you may," she corrected with an unwavering voice. "Now tell me, is it still worth it to go there?"

"And what do you want to find there? There is nothing but barren wasteland in that realm," Loki explained.

"I want to search for my father."

 _So it is from her father's side,_ Loki thought. There had never been recorded cases of interracial marriages across the Nine Realms and it was interesting how an Asgardian woman had been the one who fell in love with the Jotun. He wondered whether it was love in the first place, for in times of war it is prevalent for rape to occur on prisoners. Next question came into his mind: who was her mother? If such a powerful offspring like her had been born from the cursed union, then the news should have reached the ears of Odin quickly. But Loki had never heard such an incident in Asgard, not even rumours or legends.

And since this woman had the capabilities of a sorceress, Loki concluded that whoever her mother was, she was a powerful sorceress capable of hiding everything from Odin and even Heimdall's sight. And for some reason, only one name came into his mind.

Loki shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. The power of Bifrost was very devastating. I am not sure if there is even any survivor."

"There is still a chance," Ase interrupted.

"You want to meet your father so badly, don't you?" Loki asked with a sigh. "I tell you, it is not worth it. And you won't be able to under any circumstance."

"I have questions, doubts need reassuring," Ase told him, quite openly. He was bemused himself by her trust in him. He could have used any information she had given him against her benefit. This woman should have been smarter, more intelligent in handling people like him than any other people. Perhaps she had a motive as well.

If she did, he would be happy to play along.

"Are you asking for my help in illegally entering a supposedly-forbidden area?" asked Loki.

"If you say it as such, then yes," said Ase. "Because everyone here will do anything to stop me from doing that."

"I like where this is going," Loki remarked with a smirk. Ase consciously turned around and glanced at the guards standing not far. "Oooh… Feeling like a villain now? What do I get for giving you the help?"

"I will get you books," Ase simply replied. "The prison is boring as hell isn't it? It will be better if you have one or two interesting Midgard books."

"You brought some with you?" Loki asked as he raised a brow. "In that small satchel you carried with you?"

"We have what we call e-books," Ase answered as she took out a tablet and showed it to Loki. "Kindle. I had many books to get rid of my boredom. Also I will offer myself as your conversation companion. Like minds talk alike."

"Like minds? Interesting observation you have right there," Loki admitted. "Let us see…" He tapped his chin with his finger and contemplated deeply. It was bloody intriguing how the woman had chosen him out of all people for help, an enemy who had killed hundreds in Midgard and who had potentially annihilated his own people. _Like minds think alike_ , he reminded himself.

"Have you ever heard of Vanaheim?" Loki finally spoke. A gleeful smirk bloomed on Ase's face. The deal was on, and had been on even before she verbally asked for help. Giving someone a favour was the first step in building strong bond after all.

"I have heard of it, yes. One of the Nine Realms," Ase admitted. "That is the only thing I know, unfortunately."

"That is one major concern. But for starters, the plan," Loki whispered, ensuring his voice was soft enough to be unheard. "There are only two ways to go there. First, through Dark Magic. It is a complicated teleportation spell only several sorcerers know, and usually done by a sorcerer other than yourself, since doing it by yourself increases the chance of you arriving not in full piece."

"I am no sorceress and you know that," Ase whispered back. He sensed a hesitation in her voice.

"Never mind that. It is impossible to begin with after all," Loki teased childishly. "The second option, is through Bifrost Bridge."

"Neither Heimdall nor Odin will allow me, I know that," Ase intervened.

"I also know that. Just listen," Loki said in exasperation. "The first instinct we both have is to never trust anyone in our lives, but in Asgard it is different. Trust is the key foundation of power here. To cross the Bifrost, you need to earn the trust required to pass across the Nine Realms."

The answer was simpler than she had expected, it seemed, but she was still baffled nonetheless. It would not be easy under normal circumstances, but there had been occurrences recently which would give her an advantage. "You have earned Thor's trust and that is a good thing, but that is not enough. You need to earn Odin's faith in you, a trust that you will never bring down Asgard's name outside its realm."

"And how will I do that? I am not exactly the most diplomatic person."

Loki beamed and let out a small laughter. "Do you think Asgardians are diplomatic people?" He let out a derisive chuckle and reminisced the old days when he and Thor had foolishly entered Jotunheim and began the string of unfortunate events which followed.

"We show that we are worthy of respect and trust though our combat skills. Which is why we need Vanaheim. And the dominance of the Marauders in that Realm."

In an instant, Ase knew what she should do.

* * *

A/N: Hi guys! I am back again with the new chapter! Ase's life in Asgard is now only beginning and she begins it by scheming with Loki. I have always planned Loki's bonding with Ase to be like this, through a simple game of intelligence and an equivalent exchange sort of thing. I have always envisioned Ase as not only a warrior, but a woman of wisdom as well. Hell, she _hacked_ her way to save S.H.I.E.L.D. But no, she's not a Mary Sue, I must repeat that. The previous chapter has seen that.

And just a short rambling, I have just (oh god I am so ashamed) watched King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Quite out of context really. The critics said that it was not good but I digress so hard. The movie was fun and perhaps the most enjoyable movie I have had in a while. But my main focus is in the soundtrack, which- God bless you Daniel Pemberton- is _so good._ I listened to when I was writing the most recent chapters. So maybe you could check that out just for some inspiration. Okay, now shoo rambling mode. Shoo.

Also, quick update. I've been receiving emails of people following and favouriting me, but due to hectic schedule I was not able to actually check the actual number. And lo behold, 40 followers and 30 favourites. That was such an amazing improvement and I thank you guys for that! I love you all so much.


	14. 0203: The Game is On

"Say… Tell me about Vanaheim."

Ase knew her question was too out of context, for all of her new friends immediately gaped at her, ignoring their wines and breads. Ase gulped as she played with her fork, and her gaze. "And where did you think of this topic of conversation?" asked Hogun, his sharp eyes widening.

"I have heard rumours," she lied, pretending to chew her food. Again, a suspecting gaze from all of them. "Look, I have not been spending my days here just eating your food and using your training grounds. There were rumours in the taverns, about a rebellion in Vanaheim and such."

"Well," Hogun sighed. He looked at Thor and coughed. "I may tell her about this yes?"

"I mean, she won't divulge the information to anyone else," Thor assured him.

"Well, Lady Ase," Hogun began. Ase twitched her brows upon hearing the title. She had told them she was not a lady, but apparently the polite gentlemen had insisted in calling her so. "Vanaheim is my homeland. Three years ago, a group of pillagers called the Marauders invaded Vanaheim. We managed to silent them for a while, until Loki's rebellion came along." He ended his words bitterly and drank a gulp of his wine.

"That closed the Bifrost bridge for quite some time," Volstagg continued. "Couldn't go there for three years. Only Heimdall could see things going on there."

"And things have not been going on well there," added Fandral.

"They have taken the opportunity to retake Vanaheim," explained Sif. "Now we are back to square one _again."_

From how they were talking, Ase knew that they held a handful of grudge towards Loki, for many reasons. But little did they know that Loki was the reason she was asking the question.

 _"Vanaheim," Loki said. "Was invaded by a band of pillagers called the Marauders. Asgard managed to defeat them, temporarily. But I am sure the destruction of Bifrost had reignited their passion for pillaging. Gain your trust by fighting for Asgard. The Warriors of Three will certainly fight as well. If you have made a connection with them, then it is better."_

Loki was a schemer indeed. She was very much astonished by how fast he had conjured his whole plan, from the general outline of her journey to the small details to be scrutinised to obtain Odin's full trust. _You are to remain logical and wise. Never be careless nor hot-headed. Always accept whatever reasons he has for his decisions. That way, you can show him true respect."_

 _"I mocked Asgard on my first day here, so that might be difficult to attain," she had joked. Loki grinned and leaned towards the window._

 _"Trust me. A forgiving king is sometimes too forgiving."_

"We are planning on retaking the realm immediately after the Bifrost has been rebuilt," Thor said as he churned his meat. "Apparently it takes quite some time to rebuild the overall structure. Even with the aid of the Tesseract."

"How long?"

"A month, at least."

"Let me help you," Ase suggested. One more time, wide eyes were directed at her, but this time not out of suspicions but out of mere surprise.

"There is no need for you to that," Sif assured her. "Asgard can take care of this by ourselves."

"No," Ase retorted. "You have saved Earth more than once, so it seems fitting for me to repay the debt." She looked at Thor and pursed her lips. "Besides, it will be easier if I come. Less of your and the enemies' bloods shed, considering the extent of my power."

"Well that is a good news!" barked Volstagg. "The more the merrier! Welcome to the gang, Lady Ase!"

 _Gosh that was easy indeed,_ she whispered to herself. One of her quests had been done. She was very fortunate that these people were rather easy-going and foolish, if she was to be frank. So far, none had suspected her moves and actions in the kingdom. She had, in fact, been moving around, far more frequent than her new friends knew. She went into far too many taverns and small book shops, reading about the history of Asgard and its people, following the advice of Loki.

 _"And you need to learn more about Asgard, for heaven's sake. You will not survive with that petty knowledge of yours."_

Soon, she would be completing that current quest of hers. Her mind drifted to her next quest: controlling her powers. After unlocking her true powers for several days, she still couldn't grasp a proper control over her powers. She had tried utilising both sides of her abilities in her trainings, but every time she would lose it and ended up destroying some property. She stopped trying on her third day.

She had not told Loki of this, neither would she want to. If there was one thing she had learnt from Loki, was that she should not trust anyone, at least _fully._ And so she did, because perhaps she had known the answer to her distress all along.

After an eventful dinner with the gang, in which Volstagg and Sif almost killed each other, Ase took her own leave and went home. Her friends would want to travel along the river and spent the night singing like mad drunk people—of which, they actually were—but Ase politely declined, reasoning she was exhausted and desired a rest.

The palace was a quiet, sombre place at night. It shone with the grandeur of a thousand candle lights, but dimmed under an indescribable sadness. It was not the palace she aimed for, but the sorcerers' headquarters, which laid just next to the main palace, isolated by the maze-like herbs garden circling the place. It was a simple tower made of stones, like portrayed in medieval fantasies in books and films back on Earth. It was as tall as the palace itself, but smaller than even the training ground she usually went to. A simple, discrete place which might be the most important structure in Asgard.

Ase drew a deep breath of the cold night air, her heart beating with fear as she stepped into the tower. A staircase ran towards the peak of the tower, bearing countless floors which contained tons of magic equipment and experiments. The basement itself was a common room with two red sofa and a small shelf of books. A sorcerer was there, exploring the dusted old books. He was old and wrinkled, but Ase could see he was a powerful magician.

Upon seeing her, he instantly closed the book in alarm and lifted his hand. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"My name is Ase, of Midgard," she answered calmly with a bow. "I am sure you have heard of me."

The old man indeed recognised her, for immediately he lowered his palms and returned to his book. "Yes. There has been news. What matters do you have here?"

"I wish to meet with Lady Rhea," Ase told him.

"She is busy," the sorcerer said sternly. "Everyone is busy."

"It is urgent."

"I hope you have a solid reason for such urgency."

She was not wavered by his outmost persistence, but he certainly was when abruptly the book he was holding hovered above his hand. He staggered back, observing the book flying towards Ase. She caught the book with easy and put it back into its shelf.

"Now, if you could show the way?" Ase pleaded. The wizard blankly nodded his head and walked brokenly to the stairs. Ase followed him faithfully as they climbed the ten floors of the tower. She observed sorcerers practicing magic on several floors, in a circle embedded on the floor which glowed luminously as the sorcerers casted a spell or two. At last they reached the uppermost floor, where she could hear nothing indicating magic activity and stuff alike.

"Lady Rhea, you have a visitor," the sorcerer said, stopping at the edge of the stairs.

"Who is it? I am busy," she simply replied.

"It is Lady Ase of Midgard."

Ase heard a loud thump coming from the central table. "Let her in," ordered Rhea, who tried difficultly to maintain her composure. Ase bit her lip and stepped into the room, standing face-to-face with Rhea once more. Ase tried to look at her right in the eyes, but found a heavy dark feeling pinning her gaze down. Rhea quirked a forced smile as she greeted her daughter once more.

"Hello," Rhea said awkwardly. She fiddled her callused fingers fervently as the silence ensued. Ase looked away and tried to distract herself with the whatever eerie experiments going on inside the room.

"So… Any—Anything that…. Interests you?" stuttered Rhea. The tension was stifling.

"I…," Ase took a deep breath before she continued. "I would like to be your apprentice."

"I'm sorry?" Rhea directly asked. Ase was quite surprised with her mother's alertness in this situation. She sighed and walked towards her mother.

"I would like to be your apprentice, as a sorceress," Ase repeated, this time more out loud. Rhea blinked for several times.

"And… why would you want that?" Rhea subsequently asked. It was a plausible disbelief after their last confrontation, which brought nothing but bad results. Ase could only guess that she had instilled in Rhea an unbearable guilt after lashing out on her for abandoning her in that dark coffin a millennia ago. The feeling was mutual. Ase knew deep down that as a daughter, it was disgraceful for her to spat on her parent. It had been taught in all those textbooks and stories she had read on Earth. But forgiveness and gratitude were two difficult things to be realised in real life. That, she had only known when she met her mother.

"Because I need help," Ase painfully admitted. "Because as far as I know, I am a creature with stronger powers than anyone else. And if I want to continue to help people, I must know how to control those powers."

That was a longer confession than she had expected, but she had vomited all the substantial matters. Now it was only a matter of Rhea's decision. It took not long for Rhea to utter her next words.

"And why should I accept you?" Rhea asked, her tone smug. "I have dozens of more talented sorcerers than you are out there, begging for a chance of apprenticeship under my roof. Why should I choose you, not even a sorcerer, as my apprentice?"

Rhea was challenging her, like she herself challenging those daring to fight her. The white tiger was now facing another a golden lion, trying to maintain control over the land of their dominion. Rhea was an intelligent sorceress, no doubt, and it took Ase a while to put her words around and craft a resolute answer.

"Because you are a sorceress," Ase explained. "And a sorceress always accepts an apprentice with potential. And as you may know, despite not being a sorceress myself, I hold a valuable untouched potential to become a great practitioner of magic and perhaps, just _perhaps,_ become one of the most powerful sorceress in existence."

"Just because you are a daughter of one?"

"No, because I am a daughter of two." Rhea widened her eyes and the colours of her face were drained completely, along with her pride and confidence. When she looked into Ase's eyes, she saw not her own eyes, but his. A soul who dared to go against the authority, to rebel against the rules, who was courageous to take bold steps to make a difference in her life. She was the daughter of two, an abomination for both races, but she continued on. Rhea was reminded that this was the daughter who survived not because of her magic, but because she chose to live on and not to discard her own life to fate.

Her pride as a sorceress was replaced by the pride of being her mother. The mother of an independent heroine of her own world.

"We will start tomorrow, at first light," Rhea spoke flatly. "Do not expect an easy training."

Ase bowed to Rhea almost immediately, as deeply as her bones and muscles allowed her to. Because she had just completed her one and foremost important quest in her journey to meet her father, even if it meant defacing herself in shame and guilt, again.

oOo

Loki woke up in the morning to an extremely annoying sound of tapping on his window. He rose from whatever a bed he had, and groaned as he fluttered his eyes open to see whoever had disturbed him.

"Sorry, but I am kind of in a rush right now." Ase raised her brows and twitched a brief smile.

"Hello," Loki said. "Glad you found a rush. How is the game going?"

"Smooth as a silk's threat," Ase answered confidently as she inserted something into his cell. He heard a loud clack from his left and the small square window where his food usually went in was opened, revealing a sleek black tablet and a small folded paper on it. Loki sheepishly took the object and read the handwriting imprinted on the paper.

"It is a set of instructions on how to use the thing," Ase explained. "It is Midgard stuff so I guess you've never seen it before."

"I have seen Agent Barton holding one similar to this. I am sure I can figure something out," Loki muttered as he turned on the screen. He looked at the piece of paper again and realised it was perhaps written by Ase herself. "Are you sure this small thing holds hundreds of books?"

"Of course. Some about well-written stories and some about the strange things in Midgard. It will keep you occupied for a long time."

Loki scoffed and turned off the device. "Time, is a relative thing, considering I am going to stay in this prison for as long as I live."

Ase frowned. She must have only heard this from his own mouth. Perhaps Odin had been refraining from showing her the distasteful side of Asgardian law. Loki laughed when he saw her reaction, for it was as if seeing a disappointed child whose toy had been stolen.

"It is not a big thing, really. I am just wondering why Odin has decided to waste so much resources in keeping me alive when he could have just chopped my head off."

"I am sure he has reasons," Ase retorted. Loki let out another chuckle.

"He always has a reason," Loki suggested. "Anyways. Tell me about your progress. I am interested."

"I have told you that the everything is going as smoothly as predicted," Ase repeated. She was smart, trying not to divulge any information which he could use against Asgard. "And I am truly in a rush. I will certainly see you later, and hopefully you have finished a book or two."

"I will do three," Loki promised. Ase smirked and tapped the window one last time before she left her shadow on where she had stood. Loki smiled in amusement as he studied her handwriting. Her words were straight and firm, the depiction of an independent and strong woman.

"Thank you," he whispered, before his world was rendered to silence once more.

oOo

Thor fiddled with his hammer as his eyes scrutinised the construction of the Bifrost Bridge's core reactor. The sorcerers were drawing up the Tesseract's power, which hovered at the centre of the dome, emanating its ever-ominous light. Heimdall stood beside him, his watchful eyes scanning across the different space and time. The sky was still dark, the stars scattered across the darkness like directionless children.

"The progress is quicker than expected," Heimdall reported. "At this rate, it will be completed in less than a month."

"The armies should be prepared by then," Thor assured Heimdall. "We won't be bringing many. Just enough to cripple their major forces. Then The Warriors Three, Sif, and I will personally bring down their commanders."

"I have seen that you are including Lady Ase in your quest," Heimdall continued solemnly.

"She offered herself and she is capable. How could anyone refuse her help?"

"My eyes have seen her talking with Loki in his cell, here," Heimdall reported in whispers. "They had quite a long and meaningful conversation, I should tell you."

"What, so now you are suspecting her?" Thor scoffed. "If there is one thing you need to know, Heimdall, is that you are too suspecting towards people. It explains your isolation from society quite well."

"I believe in your judgement towards Lady Ase, for she has shown me chivalry and courage as well. I am more concerned of _Loki._ "

"You are afraid of him manipulating her?" asked Thor. "Trust me, he won't. She is too smart of a woman for him to easily use her for his schemes. Besides, that is the main reason Odin has allowed her to talk to him, because she can bring out information from him we are not able to."

Heimdall remained silent, his golden eyes directed somewhere Thor did not know. Thor knew where they were directed. "Could you please stop? You are breaching…. What in Midgard they call 'privacy', and it is a punishable crime."

"She is heading to the sorcerers' tower," Heimdall told him. "Alone. I saw her talking with Loki just now."

"What is she doing in the sorcerers' tower?" Thor wondered as well. "I have had a feeling that her encounter with Rhea did not exactly end that well."

"You need to remember that Rhea is not only her mother, but also the head of the court sorcerers," Heimdall explained. "I think with your level of intelligence you should be able to figure out her motive there."

"Oh so you are now mocking me, Heimdall? I am pretty much hurt," Thor joked. Heimdall smiled sombrely, still looking far the distance.

"Nevertheless, you should have gotten the gist of my advice," Heimdall said as he turned his back. Thor followed, cherishing the first light of dawn which had never been as vibrant and as radiant before. The sun seemed to promise a brighter future, but Thor knew too well that it was only the start of a darker age.

 _Be careful of her, for any time she can turn against us,_ Heimdall had wanted to say. Thor had too many people betraying his trust, and he prayed deeply Ase would not be the one to do so. Again.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! I am finally back (seriously, how many times I have said this?) from such a long hiatus which is caused by mainly my school work. I was particularly stressed out by the sheer amount of end-of-year exams and I could not bring myself to write properly afterwards. And you may notice that the recent chapters were shorter, well, probably because of the stress I had. Anyways, I am much fortunate to be back home now and relieving my brain from school! I will be publishing more chapters from now and write more in advance so this fic won't stall so much once I enter school next year!**

 **Furthermore, thank you so much for the sweet reviews! They really motivated me to develop this fic better. I am so glad that you guys are enjoying it :) Thank you for reading and reviewing, and I will see you next chapter!**


	15. 0204: The Sorceress' Apprentice

After decades of reading books from countless legendary authors of her era, Ase expected from the normal to the bizarre kind of magic training that would await her as she stepped into the sorcerers' headquarters once more. She had mentally prepared herself to face the most ruthless training one could think of, because magic had always been a subject of mystery and insanity.

Rhea was waiting for her, dressed in a rich bronze cloak and brown dress, her golden hair swept up into neat braids which shaped her like the figure of a queen. Indeed, Rhea bore the upbringings of a queen, for her radiance resembled that of Frigga and all the queens Ase had come across. She wondered if she and Frigga had a deeper connection than what meets the eye.

"Before we begin, I should tell you that anything you learn from me should be kept with yourself, for the art of magecraft is both a secret and a gift to be shared. Do you promise me that?"

"Even if I want to share it someone, he won't be able to understand, will he?" Ase guessed. Rhea raised a brow.

"And why is that?" Rhea asked curiously.

"I have done some researching," Ase explained. "Apparently, the ability to absolutely control the forces only runs in your blood. No other sorcerer has the ability to do that. Well, except for me."

"A smart analysis," Rhea said. "You are correct, but there are other skills and knowledge which only I know that other people should be ignorant of. You see, because I am also the head crafter of the court sorcerers. I craft runed weapons and objects, capable of destroying and defending. And since you are my apprentice, you will earn a part of the knowledge as well."

Not many people knew, but Ase was actually a woman of wisdom. She liked to learn all sorts of things, and read quite a lot back when she was in Midgard. That is why she knew how to hack and defuse bombs, how to save people's lives in many more ways other than simply fighting them.

"Alright, first things first," Rhea said. "I want you to describe the last instance you used your powers, then demonstrate it to me."

Ase hesitated. The memories of the Battle of New York were anything but vague, with the fast-paced mission at hand and the stake the Avengers were holding. "It was a matter-of-second decision," Ase reasoned. "I don't remember that much."

"Anything can help," Rhea insisted. "Feelings, emotions, taste. Anything that you remember."

Ase closed her eyes and thought, letting any bits of memories fly over her conscience. "I felt fear," she began in whispers. "Fear of unleashing my powers, of breaking the barrier which had always concealed me…"

"Then I felt an incredible strength rushing in my veins. My skin could feel the coldness surrounding me but…. My body… was _burning,_ like being engulfed in flames."

"You have great senses," Rhea said. "Then what did you feel?"

"I lost all the rush," Ase bitterly said as she opened her eyes. "Every strength was taken away from me and I lost all the will to fight. For a moment."

Rhea's eyes lit up, the curiosity of a scientist brimming in her gaze. "Now that is interesting," she whispered. She rubbed her hands and smirked. Without announcing, Rhea walked towards one of the smaller desks, and procured a tiny monocle from the uppermost drawer.

"For one, you need to pay attention to everything I say," Rhea mumbled as she showed Ase the strange object. "This is the Lens of Clarity. It allows you to see what cannot be seen."

Ase snorted internally, for Rhea was starting to sound like a mad, old witch. "Like ghosts?" she teased plainly. Rhea shook her head and put the lens in front of Ase's eye.

"No. _Magic."_

Ase held her breath when she saw that the world through the lens was completely different from her own. The vibrant colours were all replaced with baby blue, and some objects in the room emanated blood red colours which moved and swayed like an irremovable mist.

"What you are seeing is magic, found all around us," Rhea said. "We sorcerers draw power from it. Not only from this dimension, but from other dimensions as well, where the magic is purer and stronger."

Ase had heard of tales and theories on how magic actually works, this being one of them. But hearing those words coming from a real sorceress—the most powerful, no less—was truly an inexplicable experience.

"Now let us have you try it," Rhea told her, putting the monocle in front of her eyes. "Since you are still new of your ice powers, I suggest you try using it instead of your force powers. Weakness is always more noticeable in skills you have not honed."

 _She is speaking in riddles. Are all magicians like this?_ Ase mused. "Well, I might destroy more property if I do that. So do you have any safer place to do it?"

Rhea pointed to the magic circle, where Ase had seen several sorcerers chanting spells inside. "The circle, is designed to contain magic, or anything along that line, inside. Your ice powers included. So let go everything inside that circle. Nothing will happen, I promise you."

Ase gingerly stepped inside, the magic circle glowing when she did so. After she had awakened her powers, her senses seemed to grow even sharper against supernatural energies. She could feel the magic coursing beneath her feet, breathing like a living entity, waiting for her to perform her act.

She closed her eyes, focusing on her hands. She let her strength flowed through her, and felt the burning fire blazing in her hands again. In her mind, she saw the frozen pond, heard Elliot's voice reaching her, Loki's pleading eyes—

She touched the floor and let go.

There was a loud crack on the floor, which she was sure to be the ice enclosing the earth. But as she continued on, a warm hand suddenly grabbed hers, and pulled her away from the floor. Ase staggered back, feeling her knees wavering before crashed the ground in a pathetic fall. Ase opened her eyes and saw Rhea's face looking to the distance.

"Well, quite a problem in control you have indeed," Rhea muttered. "What do you feel?"

"Weak," Ase admitted. Rhea nodded and pulled her from the ground, her tumbling in doing so.

"Well, your powers certainly were not," Rhea announced. In the midst of blurry visions, Ase finally saw what she had done. The ice, which was supposed to be contained inside the magic circle, had crept to the very corners of the room, almost crawling the stone walls in process. Rhea grimly studied the scene, before she lifted her hand and muttered small words. Instantly, the ice melted into water, and the room returned to its original clean state.

"Now I understand your problem," Rhea sighed. "As I have said, we sorcerers draw magic from our surroundings and from the alternate dimensions. But you…" Rhea patted Ase's shoulder and knelt beside her. "You are using the magic within your body to fight. And that is really bad."

"Why?" Ase asked when she finally regained her breath.

"There is a reason we _borrow_ magic, and that is because our body cannot withstand the pressure. You see, personal energies are tightly linked with your life force. You use it excessively and you will kill yourself."

"I have never faced such problems before when using my powers," Ase told her.

"That is because of the restrictive seal I placed on you to hide your prese—" Rhea stopped and pursed her lips, perhaps regretting what she had just said. Ase too, looked down to her feet. As much as she wanted to reconcile with her mother, she still could not forgive her mother of what she had done. That would inevitably haunt their lessons no matter how far they would move away from the subject.

"The restrictive seal pinned down the amount of energies you can release. Thus, no matter how much you exert, you will always have some energies left inside you. But this is different, for without the seal you can empty your body in a single strike. And you also have a big vessel," Rhea said, walking away from Ase. "Capable of storing large amounts of personal energy. Not surprising."

 _Considering I am the daughter of a Jotun and an Asgardian,_ Ase continued mentally. It reminded her of a certain concept in Biology. It is the basic concept of life on Earth. Different species with different dominant traits breed and produce offsprings with both traits, increasing the chance of survival in nature. In humans, who have been so intelligent that they are literally eating mother nature itself, such inheritance of traits is both a boon and a bane. Deadly diseases are inherited, as well as immunity and attractive physical features.

 _Wait, why am I thinking so far?_ Ase reminded herself. She had been reading just too much. "Then how am I able to control it?" she asked, forcing herself to her feet.

"Well, the easiest way is for you to train your vessel. You felt drowsy because it was your first time using so much power. The more you use it, the more trained is your vessel, and the more it can hold. But more importantly, you need to control the output of your energies."

Ase sensed some physics coming her way. "You mean to increase the efficiency of my power usage?"

Rhea nodded eagerly. "For those who have bad health, they learn not to exert themselves, instead choosing what they do best. I tell you, you are using far too much energy for such a move. And secondly, you need to learn how to harness external energies, through meditation."

"Meditation?" Ase scoffed.

"Why? Haven't heard of it?" Rhea teased, pouring her a glass of water. Ase received it, but ignored it.

"I have and I used to practice it but… I found it quite useless."

"Well you should find it useful now," Rhea retorted. "Meditation is another way to see what is unseen, to feel what cannot be felt, and to hear what cannot be heard. It has been the first of what sorcerers learn, and you will first learn that as well. Now, you drink that and follow me. We need to start early."

oOo

The sorcerers' tower was not what meets the eye. Behind the tower was a larger patch of land, where five wooden huts were constructed, facing the wide expanse of the Asgardian sea. A strange, indescribable sense of tranquillity washed over Ase as she entered the secret land, hidden from all the hustle bustle of Asgard and its people. The endless patches of greenery were designed like that of a zen garden (or perhaps the other way, she was not sure).

"This, is the Garden of Solitude, the place where all sorcerers go when they need to seek the answers from their deepest thoughts and seclude themselves from the world. This is where the strongest of sorcerers train, for they know that the basis of magic is not the strength of the body, but the strength of the mind," explained Rhea as she led Ase deeper into the garden. Ase held her breath as she wondered over the absolute silence of the place.

Rhea took a seat at one of the huts, located at the edge of the garden. She gestured for Ase to sit. And so, she did, though not before ensuring a distance from her mother. For one, she wanted to refrain from hurting her if anything terribly happens in the process of her meditation, and secondly she would _not_ be able to meditate with her thoughts constantly going back to their mind-numbing first-meeting.

"Before we begin, I want to know how far you have gone in meditation," Rhea instructed. "And do tell me which one you practice, for there are many kinds of meditation."

"I do breath meditation," Ase told her quietly, afraid of disturbing the tranquillity of the place. "I went quite far, I think. But I had not the discipline to continue."

Rhea chuckled. "Well then, discipline is what you must learn. Breath meditation is done to calm the mind and control the thoughts. It is the first type of meditation we do here. If what you are saying is true, then you have accomplished the first step. For now, I need you to do that, until your mind calms down and your thoughts not disturbing you."

Ase sighed sceptically, for she was not a fast-learner in meditation. It would take her time and she certainly did not have the time. She had not told Rhea that she would be involved in the skirmish in Vanaheim, but she was certain Rhea was intelligent enough to figure out the reason of her going there. Thus, instead of protesting, Ase closed her eyes and shut her mind away from her surroundings, to herself.

At first it was suffocating. Breath meditation involved focusing on each and every breath one takes, from the slight tingle of the nostrils to the change in temperature of the skin. Ase struggled in focusing, for there were many thoughts crushing her—her plans to search for her father, the fear of being found out, the scenes from Battle of New York, and even the memories of her decades ago. This was what made it so painstakingly difficult for her to continue, in addition with all the crimes and problems she needed to solve.

"Here, there is no problem awaiting you," Rhea's voice suddenly echoed. "Here is just you and your mind. Here is safe. Here is peace."

Somehow, Ase was convinced it was true. Gradually the memories wore off, the burning anxiety wore off, and the stifling breaths became smooth and clear. Thoughts came and went, but she paid them no heed. She was back to herself once more, a single entity surrounded by nothing but herself.

"Good. You have gotten the trick. Now, feel all the energies inside your body. Feel the fluctuations of your inner magic power as you draw and release your breaths," Rhea instructed. "Take your time."

Ase obeyed her. She moved her focus from her breaths to her heart and lungs, to the belly where it is said that the _chi_ centres. She observed them quietly, sensing nothing as the time went by. She could not gauge how long it had been since the start of this practice, for time had always been a relative thing. Rhea waited patiently for Ase to respond, fiddling with the Lens of Clarity in her hand. Ase had not realised it, but she had spent nearly two hours preserving silence in the Garden.

 _She is terribly good,_ Rhea told herself as she looked at the Lens. She had been tempted to see through it, but she intended to test herself as well on how far she could sense Ase's magic powers. She was getting old, her skills quite rusty after thousands of years remaining dormant from battles and retreating herself to the world of magical research. If she was to be thrust into battle with Ase, she was not sure if victory was to be hears.

A surge of energy alerted Rhea, readying her for another uncontrolled burst of ice from Ase, but she had expected wrongly. It was a controlled surge of energy from Ase's core, and through that Rhea knew that Ase had found her way. Rhea finally lifted the Lens and saw, to her astonishment, Ase's personal energies rushing madly in her veins, but still contained within her physical vessel. She smiled, for which mother are not proud of her daughter?

Rhea despised herself. She should have been braver hundreds of years go to defend Ase from the harsh injustice of her homeworld. Away from the battlefield, she was an absolute coward. There was so much fear in her—perhaps more of fear of herself plunging in to the depths of shame because of loving a Jotun—that she ignored what truly matters. With the excuse of protecting Ase, she had disposed an infant to survive _alone_ in Midgard without caring for her feelings. Because everywhere, adults believed that they would make the best decisions for their children. But if Ase had been given the ability to speak when she was cast away, she surely would plead to her mother. No child wants to be left alone.

She could no longer see Ase in the eye. She could no longer see _him_ in the eye, if he had survived in the first place. Again, she had left him, left the love of her life to remain as the enemy of Asgard, doomed to die in the war or be hated by her own people.

Rhea of Asgard, head of the court sorcerers, was _pathetic._

"That is enough."

Ase opened her eyes immediately and squinted. She heaved and dropped to the ground, groaning in process. Rhea patted Ase's back gently. "You have done quite enough today. You are a very fast leaner. As far as I have seen, you are now quite good in controlling your inner energies. It will not be long before you can exactly gauge the proper energies needed to summon an attack."

Ase stared blankly into an unknown space. "Well. That is a good thought," she mumbled.

Ase was indeed a talented woman. Rhea was just afraid to say that aloud, after her previous experiences of praising her students and ended up having reckless minds fiddling with their mortality. There had not been such a fast learner under her guidance, as if Ase herself was born naturally to wield magic. If Ase had been in Asgard since birth, she would have been the strongest living sorceress in history by now. _'If'_ was the word.

 _Everything would have been different if I have not been such a coward._

"I think you should rest now," Rhea suggested. "The sun is setting. Tomorrow, we will start on your training in tapping energies of different dimensions."

"What?" Ase gasped in disbelief. She glanced at the horizon, catching the side of the sun sinking behind the ocean. She rubbed her eyes and gaped, quite inelegantly. "How long have I been out?"

"Eight hours, give or take," Rhea said nonchalantly. "You did take your time."

"Bloody," Ase protested. "No wonder my legs are aching so much."

"An additional thought," Rhea said. "We should add healing spells into your syllabus. Since you are a fighter you may be needing it."

"What do you mean syllabus?" asked Ase.

"Well, like a school syllabus. We have textbooks and encyclopedia you need to read, especially since you are nothing but a rookie," Rhea explained.

Ase huffed, but not in a disappointed manner. She had expected this to happen, but would not resent it. For starters, she was a book-worm, in a sense. Everything she knew, from physics to hacking to cooking, came from books and the internet. Elliot had not been smart enough to be her tutor nor reckless enough to hire one. Thus, as soon as she was able to read, he procured for her all the books in his possession—either bought in a flee market or stolen from one.

"Okay," Ase curtly answered, stretching her body after the long hours of sitting. "At least I have something to keep me occupied in my free time."

Rhea smiled at her enthusiasm. "Let us go back," Rhea said.

If time was relative, then this one day was a short period. But in such short span, Rhea had seen many sides of her daughter, too much to be described. And after all that, she could certainly surmise that Ase had grown as a beautiful woman, even without her guidance.

oOo

"And why in the world do you choose this place as your reading corner?"

Ase continued to ignore Loki as she flipped through the pages of what it seemed as textbooks on alternate dimensions. It was one of the many thicker books she had brought that evening, stacked neatly beside her. Loki deduced that she had left that morning to learn some sorcery, but from who he could not decide.

"Who are you learning sorcery from?" Loki stupidly asked.

"Guess," Ase replied, her eyes still glued on the words imprinted on her book. "I assure you it is not your mother."

"Oh, such a nice assurance," Loki said. "Come on. I have helped you so much. You should have given me at least equally much."

"I have given you the tablet. You should be satisfied," Ase protested, closing her book as she realised she could not continue under such disturbed atmosphere. Loki wondered why she had chosen this place in the first place. The palace library should have been sufficient, considering there were more resources there as well.

"If you consider it carefully, you are just not giving back that much," Loki continued.

"Well then, tell me how much you have learnt from my books, and I will see if your _pay_ is sufficient or not," Ase challenged him.

"Well, I have certainly read on how a whole nation constantly waged war against each other over hundreds of years or so," Loki told her smugly. "I am sure you know which country I am referring to. Oh wait, there are _a lot_ of countries doing that, isn't it?"

"Either you are a bloody fool or you are just purposefully ignoring things," Ase sighed as she stepped closer to the glass. "You see, I do not deny that humans are often so stupid and reckless and desire power over the weak. We are sentient beings after all. Like all beings, we implement the concept of survival of the fittest. We wage wars against each other because we fear that the other will pit us to death, steal our crops, take our powers."

"It seems you are starting a lecture here," Loki remarked.

"Then listen. It is a good lecture," Ase retorted back. Loki laughed because of this, a ringing laughter he had not heard from himself for a long time. Ase herself was surprised but she did not say anything.

"If you quietly study all those wars and stuff, there is one thing apparent. The poor ruler, who cannot protect his own people and only cares for his own desires, fall under the revolution of the commoners. They are stripped off their positions because they control their people like animals. That, Loki, is not the right way to rule."

"Are you reprimanding me?" Loki asked with raised brows. "Because if you are, then you should stop. It won't work."

"Well I am," Ase admitted openly. "Because you see, in contrast, a benevolent ruler is loved by his people. He pays attention to his people's needs, pleads, and hopes. He builds a nation and does not destroy it, and in return he is safe from all dangers."

"That is the most outstanding lie I have ever heard," Loki remarked.

"Well, if it is that outstanding, you should probably believe in it. Because there is no use of having power if you end up being engulfed and destroyed by it," Ase shot back with flying brows.

"You are funny," Loki simply said as he returned to his device.

"Not many people say that," Ase told him.

"I am not like many people."

"I see," she murmured under her breath. Out of nowhere, he noticed that her attention was now leaning towards his prison cell. Her face gradually sank, as if she had received a news of grief.

"What is it?" Loki asked, pretending that he had not seen her behaviour.

"Don't you want to walk out of this once in a while?" Ase asked. Her words had bemused him, for of course she knew the answer. Every prisoner wants to escape his cell, to take a breath of fresh air once more, to see the sun and to feel the warmth of the day and the cold of the night. It had only been several days, but Loki was starting to feel the stifling feeling of entrapment and loneliness. He dared not admit it, for it would only show that he was vulnerable like the others, but he feared he could not last this cage until the edge of his life.

"Odin is not wise in believing that a man who commits treason should be put in a cell to be punished for his crimes," Ase declared. "He will only create more enemies."

"I have been his enemy from the start," Loki scoffed. "This is a useless thing, this cage. He thinks he can punish me more after he lied to me. He thinks loneliness can make me feel deprive of life. He is wrong."

"I see you are prepared for this," Ase said.

"No. It is just because you are here, so I am not feeling that lonely," Loki admitted. He realised what he had said only several moments later. Ase looked at him, emotionlessly, her brown eyes glinting under the dim light of the hallway. Loki remained silent, swallowing his breath in deep contemplation. Now, what had made him say that?

"I am glad," Ase simply said, forming a small smile. Loki was struck with even more confusion, for there was a strange warmth blooming in his heart when he saw the simple joy carved on her face. "Loneliness truly kills you, in many ways," she added lowly. She paused and traced her fingers on the window glass. She frowned when nothing happened.

"Of course nothing happens. The window is magic-proof," Loki sighed. "It was crafted by Rhea, I suppose."

"Rhea? The head sorceress?"

"Yes. You know of her?"

"I've heard of her," Ase explained briefly. Loki chuckled and swiped the screen of his tablet.

"Of course. She is quite famous, you see," Loki told her. "And besides the Queen, she was my mentor as well. Frigga taught me many things in sorcery, but most of them are illusions and healing spells. But Rhea, is another person entirely. If I were to describe the two of them, Frigga is the shield and Rhea is the sword. She is the master of offensive magics and all weapons and tactics. She creates the most destructive of spells and enchants the most dangerous weapons ever in existence. She was also one of the forgers of Mjolnir."

"She was?" Ase gasped.

"Yes, she was, but I was never a fan of those things," Loki continued. "But if you ask me, you are more than fitting to become her student. That is, if you wish to."

Ase opened her lips to speak, but decided to refrain her words, for reasons he could not discern. Loki yawned and laid on the ground, closing his eyes and rewinding the whole conversation altogether.

"I think I have helped you just too much," Loki realised with a click of his tongue. "This is a bad position for me."

"Don't worry, I am not as dishonourable as you may think," Ase reminded him, gathering her extremely thick books from the ground. "I will figure a way to make your prison life better."

"If there is even a way," said Loki sceptically. "Actually, there is a way. You should learn a spell or two to muffle sounds. I don't like those two guards eavesdropping our entire conversation."

"And there is also another way," Ase convinced him. "But I may need more time to figure that out."

"Trust me. I have all the time in the world right now."

* * *

A/N: Hi guys! I am back with another chapter! I've been writing so fast here that I can't even comprehend my speed. In fact, I've finished the entire second arc and is diving into Age of Ultron. However, I am publishing the new chapters slowly so I can save the rest up for next year, which will be a hectic year considering I will be taking my O levels. That's why please bear with me!

Also, I've taken quite the creative liberty in devising the magic system in Asgard. The meditation concept is actually taken from Naruto, when one increases the control over chakra better by meditating. It also relates close to me as I do meditation quite often and I understand that its purpose is to clear the mind and control your thoughts. So yeah! And also I am just creating stuff such as the Garden of Solitude and the fact that Asgard has a brigade of sorcerers. (I am taking every advantage of the fanfiction license here)

As always, thank you for everyone's support, reviews, favourites, follows, and even your reads! I will see you in hopefully less than two weeks!

For those of you on your holiday break, have a good rest and journeys ahead!


	16. 0205: Two Masters

"You want me to teach you how to do enchanting?" The bewilderment in Rhea's voice was loud and clear, judging from Ase's expressions afterwards. "And why would you want that if you have not even mastered drawing energies from your surroundings?"

"I don't have all the time in the world," Ase reasoned as she slammed all the books she had been given the previous day on Rhea's desk. "Midgard might call me any second now, thus I have no time to dwell in a single thing. I need to multi-task."

Rhea sighed settled down a necklace she had been working on. "Magic needs time, and impatience is a sorcerer's most dangerous enemy. There is no use of learning to quickly, for you cannot grasp the concepts completely. Grasp the concepts incorrectly and stray just a little bit in its practice, then you might just chop your head off or mutilate your body in pieces."

"I don't have _time,"_ Ase insisted under her breath. She appeared frustrated after a mere day of training, which was not unusual for a beginner sorcerer but odd for her. Rhea had been investigating her daughter's demeanour outside their training regiment, from Thor and the others. They had said that she was a calm woman who would contain her desperation under her cold gaze, even if she was forced to wait for a long time or repeat the same boring tasks over and over. But her learning magic was different. She did not learn it out of interest, but out of need. Without it, she could not achieve so many things she had been hiding from Rhea since the start of their lesson.

"If you want to remain my apprentice, you should learn to control your patience," Rhea said sternly.

"Then at the very least you can give me some books related to the subject," Ase retorted gravely.

"You haven't even finished—"

"I have," Ase told her confidently. "Every theory behind the alternate dimensions and the external energies, portals and dimensional links, and even the beginner steps in energy conversions to spells. Test me if you want, for I am not afraid."

From her surety in saying it, Ase was not jesting. Rhea had not ever doubted her daughter's intelligence, but to go this far in studying sorcery… She must have had a photographic memory, for there was no way one could memorise so much in the course of several days.

"But practical is not as easy as theory," Rhea argued calmly. "I promise you some insight on enchanting, only if you manage to draw your energy from the alternate dimension by today. If not, the deal is over. You will only learn enchanting at the last stages of your learning."

Ase frowned conspicuously, her knuckled gripped until all her skin was white. "Let us get started on our meditation, shall we?" Rhea told her. She guided Ase back to their meditation hut, where Ase slumped to the floor and mourned her fate for one and a half minutes. All the while, Rhea spun her thoughts in discerning her purpose to learn enchanting. For one, Ase was spot on in asking the favour from her, for she was one of the best enchanters in Asgard. Her knowing this merely showed how versatile she was in gathering information. In fact, Ase's skillset was very imposing, ranging from combat to intelligence and, to a great extent, manipulation. If she were to be a villain currently, she would even match Loki's intellect—

"You have been speaking with Loki, haven't you?" asked Rhea just before Ase closed her eyes. She gaped in a split second and a cold wind brushed Rhea's cheek.

"Yes. Why are you asking?" Ase asked without hesitation. Rhea swallowed and opened her dry lips.

"I advise you stay away from him," Rhea slowly said. The air was dropping.

"And why is that?" Ase asked once more, her tone never changing. It frightened Rhea.

"Because he is the Silver Tongue, Ase. He manipulates people to fulfil his wishes and goals. He has wrecked Midgard not once, but twice. What if he manipulates you?" explained Rhea quickly.

"Is that what you say to your own apprentice?" Ase shot back.

"So he has told you many things," Rhea retorted. "Yes, he was my apprentice, and let me tell you that the pride of a sorceress is eternally scarred when her apprentice does wrong. He is brilliant both in mind and magic. He continues to surprise me and Frigga, even now…"

"Then I should tell you as well that I am not as easily manipulated as other people," Ase assured her. It felt warm once more.

"Still, you should be careful."

"You know that he is like all normal people, right?"

Rhea's nails dug her skin. Normal? Who in the world would declare that Loki, the man who had called upon the Chitauri to invade Earth and destroy his own homeland, a normal being? Rhea, despite groomed to investigate things objectively, still saw him as the man who would kill for fun. He was not a man to be meddled with.

"I know just like all of us, he is a living creature sharing our universe, but he wants more than sharing. He craves power, dominance," Rhea continued.

"What if you are wrong?" Ase's voice echoed clearly. "What if all he wants is love?"

Another wind blew across the garden, sending fallen petals to the endless sky. There was a tinge of warmth carried by the gust, gently caressing Rhea's figure in the midst of the awe over her daughter. Ase looked into Rhea's eyes, conveying a message she could not grasp. It was not telepathy, but a mental song which played inside her head.

"I think I know what to do with him. Worry yourself for other things," Ase ended as she closed her eyes. Rhea took a step back as Ase began her meditation, then another, until she reached the end of the hut. The sun streamed on Ase's face, enhancing the blur reflection Rhea was seeing. Three people in one body.

The soul of Ase, the spirit of her father, and the grief of Loki Laufeyson.

oOo

No matter how hard Ase tried to concentrate on her breathing, her mind constantly fetched the scene just before. She was not fully aware of what she was saying to Rhea in that moment.

 _What if all he wants is love?_

Love was a difficult word. It had been described in many romance books and novels, by the most famous poets and authors, but the truth was far from those fantasy stories where one could easily dedicate one's heart to another. For fifty years of her life on Earth, Ase had never felt love. At least, the romantic aspect of love, for she had received the treasured love of Elliott and Coulson, which had moulded her this far. In the midst of protecting the world from juvenile hackers and infamous terrorists, she had had no time to think of her own life and her future. If love was one of them, then perhaps she was cursed to be loveless for eternity.

Perhaps it was the same for Loki. He was so consumed with his dreadful goals that he forgot the true meaning of love, that he was ignorant of his brotherhood with Thor, and his unbreakable connection with Frigga. But if Ase's eyes were not fooling her, then she believed that Loki was recollecting himself once more. He would, eventually, leave everything behind, for there was nothing but terrible memories tailing along his terrible exploits.

Now, as her train of thoughts had stopped, Ase returned to her inner self. She found the pattern in her breaths once more, now seemingly softer than yesterday. She could feel her energies easily, and manage their flow from her limbs to her head. But as she continued to observe, she grew bored. Her mind was stagnant, wishing to seek another path.

Ase, knowing exactly what to do, decided to reach out.

It was like a vicious-flowing river streaming into her body all at once. Under her focus, she could sense the dense atmosphere moving on its own, like a fog creeping around her body, slowly seeping into her skin. It _was_ seeping into her skin. In fact, she was absorbing this strange energy minutely, like a sponge. She was like a magnetic field, somehow, attracting the magic energy surrounding her.

Out of curiosity, certainly not asking guidance, Ase began drawing in power from the atmosphere, little by little, to the palm of her right hand. A chill ran down her spine when she felt something tingling her skin.

She opened her eyes and saw a small ice edelweiss growing on her skin. Rhea was sitting not far, a cup of tea in her hands, which dropped just after she saw the tiny blossom.

"How long was I out?" Ase asked.

"An hour," told Rhea hesitantly. "And you accomplished that in an hour. Boy I am very impressed."

Ase observed her tiny creation. Never had she imagined her treacherous powers creating something so beautiful. _This is what it is to control one's power,_ Ase thought as the ice crumbled away into water.

"You have succeeded in tapping the nature's powers. Your next steps will be easier," informed Rhea as she picked up her cups of tea. "But still challenging. Using the energy of your surroundings is not enough. There are other dimensions which have more suitable energies for different types of spells, making them more effective and efficient. You waste less energy when drawing power from these dimensions."

"I read that," Ase interrupted.

"As I have told you, practical is more difficult than theory," repeated Rhea. She swept her hand across the wooden floor and miraculously the surface was dry from any moisture. "Since you have succeeded in your first steps, I think I will leave you on your own devices today. Practice some of your magic with the use of the natural energies until lunch. Afterwards, we will proceed to tapping the other dimensional powers."

"You are leaving me?"

"I believe that you are an independent learner, Ase," Rhea assured her. "Besides, I need to sort out the books suitable for your next topics. One of them _may_ be on enchanting." She said the last sentence with a gleeful wink. "I will see you at the tower after 12" Ase scowled as the woman left the garden to herself. Ase certainly did not inherit the mischievous attitude of her mother.

After a moment of daydreaming, Ase set foot outside the hut and into the open air. She breathed in the scent of the trees and the sea, her senses fluttering with an odd sensation. The magic around her was like tiny particles kissing her skin, ever changing and moving, yet never too quick and too violent.

 _If Rhea has indeed left me to my own devices, then I presume I can do anything I want to improve my magic,_ she pondered. She lifted her head, eyeing the fresh rays of the day. A vast expanse of water lay before her, a perfect platform to test her skills. The idea in her mind reminded her of the time when Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee. She certainly did not match him in purity.

Ase huffed apprehensively as she took of her shoes, thinking that the direct contact with her skin would provide her with a greater control. If she were to do this, she must have a precise control of her powers, both frost and force. Exuding too much power will result in the death of all marine creatures below, and emitting too little will cause the death of her.

 _This is foolish and brilliant at the same time,_ she whispered to herself. She lifted her leg and slowly dipped a foot towards the water. Frost formed beneath her as she did, magic pulsing through her skin like a heartbeat. She pulled her other leg, successfully suspending herself on the water. The sight made her smile, and she slowly but surely delved further into the ocean, away from the shores. She felt like a child brimming with exuberance as she learnt her first few steps. And when she arrived in the middle, she did realise that she had been using her inner energies all along.

Overcome with curiosity and the determination to prove Rhea that she could perform beyond her expectations, Ase decided to advance further. She did not close her eyes, but she meditated, reaching out to the forces of nature watching.

And she gently released her might to the sea before her. The sight was truly endearing. The frost, spreading from her feet, crawled across the sea like a sheet being rolled over a smooth surface. The ice sheet ran farther than expected, reaching the edge of the horizon. Ase knelt down and wiped the surface, noticing that her feats had not done any harm to the fish below. She smiled in satisfaction and returned back to her feet.

She felt a little tired, but not to the point of exhaustion. Perhaps she was forcing her vessel to convert too much of the nature's powers. No, she knew better. It was not because of that. It was because she was drawing her power from the wrong dimension. Asgard was certainly not the proper dimension to support her touch of ice.

With that in mind, she decided to ask for another favour of him. But this time, she was sure he would not see it as a debt waiting to be paid.

oOo

Rhea coughed at the book she was holding and dust sprouted to her face. It took her quite a moment to stop the fits, before she wiped the book's cover from the cursed dirty particles. It had been quite long since she had used this book, yet alone having an apprentice befitting the knowledge held within it.

 _She has not acknowledged you yet,_ she told herself repeatedly. She had expected this, for it had been her fault that Ase was hating her. But a mother's love is always unwavering, like what she felt right now.

"Lady Rhea," whispered one of the sorcerers as he encroached upon her private study. "Lady Sif requests to meet you."

Rhea nodded, signifying her permission to allow her into her sacred compound. Sif entered with heavy footsteps, cladded in glinting armour only she owned. But unlike the usual, Sif was enveloped in an unknown anger, invisible rage which was threatening Rhea.

"Sif," Rhea smiled. "When did I last time see you? You look so thin!"

"Can we spare the formalities and get back to my main purpose here?" Sif insisted sharply. Rhea was deeply taken aback by her tongue, but remained composed nevertheless.

"And that is?"

"Ase is your daughter, isn't she?"

Rhea's eyes blared in horror. "How did you know of this?"

The shock and panic had taken over Rhea's conscience first, before she realised what she had revealed to Sif, a woman she had deemed as her own daughter for so long. But Sif showed no response, her eyes as hard as usual. Rhea sighed and touched her temples, the burden of guilt washing over her once more.

"I saw her demonstrating her powers when I trained with her," Sif explained slowly, knowing that this topic must have been sensitive for Rhea. "No one in Asgard has that power except you."

"You are smart as usual."

"Why have you been hiding it all this time?" Sif asked, her tone softer. Rhea's face sank, fearing that Sif was disappointed by this sudden turn of events. But to her surprise, Sif showed anything other than despise. Sif approached the woman and took her hands, her face filled gravely peering into Rhea's mind. "You have been telling me about this… Your missing daughter. All this time I thought she was lost to you but… Rhea, why don't you tell anyone about this?"

"So what? For Ase to be condemned by the people around her?" Rhea snapped. "No, Sif. This matter is beyond what you are thinking. If everyone know who she is, Ase will never step foot on Asgard anymore."

Rhea grasped Sif's arm harshly and squeezed it. She searched for Sif's eyes and when she found them, radiated a furious plead from the depths of her soul. "Promise me you will not tell any of this," Rhea whispered. "Not… to… anyone…"

"You don't seek acceptance like that, Rhea," Sif retorted instead, shoving Rhea's hand aside. "People need to know who she is, nevertheless however fearful she is from what your words imply. Only when all of Asgard know her deeds back in Midgard will they welcome her. Even now, they still her as a hostile guest!"

"You don't understa—," Rhea grumbled.

"That is such an overused line, Rhea," Sif sighed. "Does Thor know? No, I _bet_ he knows. He is the reason why Ase is allowed to come in the first place."

"It will not change if he knows or not. This secret must be kept between the two of us!" Rhea insisted viciously. She took in a deep breath, her voice calming down, then continued, "Please do me this favour, Sif. I do not want Ase's short time here to be ruined by unnecessary things. _Please."_

Sif's lips twitched in disdain and she distanced herself from the sorceress. "I guess Ase's encounter with you did not end so well," Sif whispered.

"Trust me, it did not."

"Then what you are doing is worsening the situation," Sif added. "Secrets are very deadly, Rhea. You've seen that when Loki rebelled against Asgard. I do not know what secret Ase holds, but sooner or later she needs to reveal it. You need to do so as well."

Rhea was engulfed in silence, not knowing what to do. In fact, she was now very indecisive with anything hurled towards her. From Ase's apprenticeship to her answer to Sif's declaration. What she had sowed hundreds of years ago were bearing fruit, and time certainly was not giving her a long time.

"Ase is going to join our conquest to Vanaheim, do you know that?" Sif whispered. Rhea lifted her head anxiously, for this was certainly unheard of.

"What do you mean _join_?"

"In two weeks she is going to be sent through the newly-constructed Bifrost to help us settle the rebellion in Vanaheim. That is called _joining,"_ explained Sif impatiently. Seeing Rhea's confusion, Sif sighed. "I think perhaps you should get to know your daughter better, Rhea. It is no good for a mother to miss something of her daughter."

"I will," Rhea assured her in a more positive note. She would surely investigate this, for if she there were certain things she knew, she knew that Ase would never do things without a purpose.

Just like him.

oOo

"So what is this plan you have…. To get me out of this cell?"

That certainly snapped her out of her daydream. Ase appeared blank for a moment, her mind in a distant sea, until he waved his palm and dragged her back to true reality.

"What?" she asked.

"You arrived here, eyes shook, and just stared at the window. What have you to tell me?" Loki demanded with a scoff. "Look, there is absolutely no possibility for you coming here with no reason."

"What if I don't have one?"

"Well, you're a bad liar."

Ase quirked a small smirk. "Let me think of solving this by my own first before handing it to you."

"Oh woman you know I am better at it," Loki retorted with a sigh. "Just tell me and I will help you."

"Well this is quite the change!" Ase remarked. "The God of Mischief is helping me? How I am surprised."

"You are playing with me, aren't you?" asked Loki playfully.

"Haven't we been playing a game all this time?" Ase shot back. An awkward silence for a moment, before Loki let out a boisterous laughter. If it wasn't for the cell, confining any sound he had produced, his laughter would certainly echo across the halls of the palace. Ase was taken aback for a moment, but seeing that she had amused a man who had suffered so much, she beamed as well.

"Are you sure you want to help me?" Ase repeated.

Loki shrugged his shoulders and yawned. "As long as it keeps me entertained, then I am fine," he admitted. Ase widened her eyes at him, definitely flabbergasted by his direct attitude. It was that moment that Loki caught something he had never observed in her before—or, to be precise, never had a proper time to look at.

"What?"

Loki blinked and cleared his throat. "Your problem? Ma'am?"

"I need to learn how to tap energy from another dimension," Ase explained slowly and hopelessly. "If not, I might not be able to advance my magical training."

Loki's brows were now flying. "If that's the case, Rhea is definitely going to teach you," Loki suggested. "She's a great master."

"I can only help you get out of this cell if I learn how to do that by today," Ase added.

"And how long have been studying magic again?" Loki continued. "? Look, Ase, as talented as you might be—which, from what I've seen, you are—magic is not a matter of a snap of the fingers." He subsequently stood up and demonstrated a perfect snap. "It took me thousands of years to learn that and it's still not enough. You need patience for that."

"You sound like her. Like Rhea," Ase informed him gravely.

"She taught me for hundreds of years, Ase. She taught many useful and very true facts of life," Loki explained. "But it concerns me how far you will go to simply let me out."

"I am not letting you out. I am just… Lessening your suffering? I don't know how to rephrase this."

"You certainly don't need to. Nobody needs to."

"I do."

"I've just met you and not even those who have known me for so long dare to do that," Loki pressured her. "You're just wasting your time for heaven's sake."

"So you are suggesting I just leave someone who has been under this… tremendous hate and despise for centuries just because he doesn't belong in his world?" Ase whispered. "Loki, I've lived too long to know that, and the pain that tortured me was… I cannot let someone go through that kind of pain… again."

Loki heard something echoing afar, a guard letting out a series of chronic coughs which would have woken up a slumbering drunk. Then there was silence, a deafening emptiness reigning over the two. He was observing her again, quietly and furtively. He was seeing it again, the indescribable aspect of her existence which had intrigued him for so long, which ignited a train of strange thoughts he had never had before.

"You need to reach," Loki said finally, stepping closer to the window. Seeing Ase's bemused expression, Loki continued, "Come here," he beckoned her. Ase approached the glass, standing face to face with him. Now that she was so close, he could see her tired eyes carrying an unknown burden.

"Close your eyes. Enter another meditative state," Loki instructed, sounding like a professional master himself. Teaching was not his forte, but Ase was not exactly a student as well. She obeyed, shutting her eyes and breathing in and out.

"The easiest step to do is to reach for the dimension closest to you," Loki explained. "Certainly not Asgard, but somewhere else which you can _feel."_ He paused and pondered. "Think about Midgard. The life you had in there, the emotions you experienced. Nature is a powerful force, and a caring friend. Ask for her help."

He was actually repeating what Rhea and his mother had said when he had learnt sorcery in his early years. It actually helped him get in touch with the magic from other worlds. He never told anyone which dimension he felt the strongest connection to. When one connects with a dimension, he or she might get visions, either related to their lives or just a random event from that world. For him, it was the former.

"This is slightly difficult," Ase admitted openly. "I am not exactly that emotional person."

"You've come this far. You should believe in yourself," Loki assured her firmly. Ase peered her eyes open and glanced at him, before she returned to focus once more. He could sense the energy around her moving, flowing as she breathed. At first it was slow, then it grew into a rushing stream of river which flowed against the currents.

 _This is not an act of a beginner. She is born for this._

Abruptly, everything stopped. The air halted its bombardment and the atmosphere was shut still. But he could feel it, the build up of her inner energy, as if she was using something unseen. Loki scoffed in disbelief, for this was the first time he had seen such a miracle happen, such a potential in someone who had just touched magic for several days in her life.

"Ase," Loki whispered. She did not open her eyes. "You did it! Ase, you did—"

"Let me through!" A loud clang echoed across the hallway. Loki whirled his attention to the source of the noise, his senses alert. Blood was drained off his face when he saw his visitor. Burning bronze eyes glared at him, an old master confronting her old student. Then she turned to Ase, who was oblivious of her arrival.

"Loki, what is going on here?" Rhea demanded. But before Loki could answer, the dense air slipped, and in a blink of an eye a shockwave emanated from Ase's body, pushing Rhea aside.

Ase opened her eyes wide and reflected the gaze of her spectators. The guards who had been chasing Rhea too were aghast, for the building had shook with a force certainly not driven by nature.

Loki immediately smirked as he saw Rhea's terrified face.

"It appears she has accomplished her challenge," Loki declared. "I expect you fulfil your promise, Rhea."

"My Lady, you are not allowed to be in this place," reminded one of the guards. But Rhea shoved them away and towered them with her shadow. But Rhea's visage said otherwise,

"Now you folks tell the King that I deserve every right to be here, because this lady here is of my responsibility as my student," Rhea barked, her voice reverberating in the hallway. "I will only exit with a very valid reason or at the risk of causing apocalypse. Before that, you are the ones to _leave."_

The guards visibly shuddered and scampered towards the King's chamber. Rhea shifted her attention to her two suspects, both with guards raised and wills stern.

"Now, I demand that both of you… tell me… _everything."_

* * *

 **A/N: Hi guys! Here's a new chapter, which will be followed by another post tomorrow as a Christmas gift for you all! By this time Ase and Loki's relationship has developed a bit and the events will soon lead to Thor: the Dark World movie story. It will be a rough ride, but I hope you guys like it!**

 **Thank you again for reviewing and following, even putting this to your favourites! I will see you tomorrow!**


	17. 0206: Differences in Between

A moment had passed since Ase unleashed her potential, but it seemed as if the cold had not escaped the hallway. Rhea's glare was burning with anger and disappointment, and for the first time in him meeting her, Loki saw Ase flinching, even only minutely. Loki gripped his palm tight, for he had never seen a confrontation so unnerving since Thor's argument with Odin.

"Where do you want me to start?" asked Ase, not moving from her position.

"Since you've start scheming with the Silver Tongue, I believe," Rhea answered in a tone which clearly antagonised Loki. He did not rise to the threat. Instead, Ase stepped forward and faced her teacher.

"I admit that I am scheming with him," Ase admitted lowly. "But it is not without purpose."

"Well, considering the track record this man has," Rhea replied as he pointed towards Loki. "I doubt you have anything good in your mind."

Ase scoffed and looked away. "So you think that I am as lowly as that? After my deeds of helping Earth?" accused Ase.

"Well, if that's not the case, then feel free to confide to me what the bloody hell are you planning," Rhea demanded. Loki saw that there was a growing gap between them, albeit they were closing their distance between each other.

"Loki is simply helping me in my studies as a sorceress," Ase told her. "So that I can gain more strength to support Thor and the others in their campaign in Vanaheim."

"I believe there is more than merely helping those in need," Rhea insisted.

Ase clicked her tongue and glared. "I want to go to Jotunheim."

Rhea's eyes widened as she swallowed the truth Ase had just revealed. Loki covered his mouth as he watched the scene unfold before his eyes. There was a strange connection between the two, more than mere master and apprentice. And that's where it dawned to him. The facial features, the bronze eyes, the golden streaks of hair flowing down their backs. They were more than colleagues in education indeed.

"You want to meet your father?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Ase frowned and her next words were concealing a gurgling anger. "Because he is my _father,_ nevertheless his race or his side in a redundant war amongst the nine realms. Even if I need to scheme against you, I _don't care."_

Rhea's face was growing paler and paler every word Ase spoke. Loki realised what would come next, and he faced away from his window. His fear overcome his pride, for his actions and his cruelty in the past.

"Ase, there is a high chance that your father is dead," Rhea unveiled. "The _incident_ a year ago had almost completely decimated Jotunheim, although leaving some of its land intact." Rhea glanced at Loki sharply as she spoke, which denounced his worth of presence in this conversation further.

"How can you be so sure?" Ase asked, no doubt scarring her voice. "He might still be alive, somewhere in those lands, and I will find him."

"Jotunheim is very dangerous and even if your father was indeed alive, you'll get yourself killed before reaching him!" Rhea persuaded harshly. "You _cannot_ leave."

"I do not care!" boomed Ase. Rhea flinched as Ase's voice echoed across the hallway. "If I have learnt a thing or two in the past decade, it is to never give up the slightest sliver of hope. I am not giving up on him either."

At this Rhea could not reply, for it was morally wrong to deny a daughter in seeing her father. But Rhea had not heard from him in so many years, whether he had died or not there was no certainty—especially since Loki had unleashed the power of Bifrost on the realm. Then there was the question of why Ase, of all the intelligent people, was trusting Loki.

"I am aiding in the battle in Vanaheim so I can earn Odin's trust and go to Jotunheim," Ase continued bitterly, only sighing afterwards. "But I guess it won't matter anymore."

Just like that, her hope died out. No, Loki was sure it was still there, but it was not as bright and luminous as before. She would proceed with her journey in finding her father with a hope hanging at the edge of a thread.

"Odin won't allow anyone enter Jotunheim anymore," Rhea whispered. Ase drew a deep breath, perhaps relieved that Rhea was unexpectedly showing signs of helping her but dismayed of the meagre chance for getting into Jotunheim. "He won't trust me and he certainly won't trust you. You need another way."

"You agree to help me?" Ase asked. Rhea pursed her lips and closed her eyes. Something in her soul was abated, an indescribable emotion only he could see, for at the current moment Ase's empathy was blunted by her storm of emotions.

Loki finally stood up and approached the window, indifferent of his presence uninvited in this conversation. "Considering her visible potential…" Loki "I believe Dark Magic is now a possibility. Though, she needs another sorcerer to do it and Heimdall's cooperation."

"You need not his cooperation," Rhea offered. "We need only to distract him. Then you can put up the cloaking spell which has concealed her all these years… But you need to learn how to use Dark Magic as well. No one will transport you back from there. And it may damage your health worse than when someone helps you."

Ase's look was a firm answer, brimming with conviction and determination which rarely appeared in her eyes. This surprised Loki, for no matter fierce Ase is in battle, she was a figure of conserved emotions, who caged her opinions within her heart and let her objectivity lead her. Now it was different. Something was driving her will—and it was certainly not the logical side of her brain. This plan was full of holes, a house of cards ready to topple anytime. Rhea should have known this.

Yet, instead of protesting, the sorceress merely nodded. Loki stared at both of them in awe, for they would be walking to perhaps their own deathbed. If Odin knows their plan, Rhea would certainly be demoted and Ase would never step foot on Asgard again. Why was Rhea doing this? Ase clearly had no respect for Rhea's existence, not even slightly grateful that she was studying under her mother. Why was Rhea helping Ase?

Frigga flashed across his mind.

 _Of course,_ he thought bitterly, as he left the two women's unbeaten wills prevail. He would play along, though the difference this time was that it was not a game.

oOo

Ase had seen an army of aliens before, an several platoons of marines and soldiers. But seeing a whole Asgardian army was a different matter altogether. Armours cladded their tall figures, glinting under the blooming sunrise, like gold reflecting the light of the fire. Ase scanned the rows of men, their weapons held closely to their chest, as they marched towards the newly-reformed Bifrost bridge. Ase saw her own reflection on the glittering pass. She was very much an Asgardian herself. Her white jackets had been replaced with a silver plate armour, hiding a soft grey shirt beneath. Her arms were hugged by leather bracers and her legs were protected by a pair of deep ebony trousers.

It was not upon her free will that she dressed herself like this. Thor insisted that Ase would be difficult to differentiate from her enemies with her original attire, so Sif provided for her a set of armour which was incredibly light and would not hinder her movements. And, as if following a set of traditions, Ase let her hair down, only braiding some of the locks. It was truly strange, to see her like a medieval warrior, whereas she had lived almost half a decade in a modern world. It made her question in which realm did she truly belong.

Odin was bidding farewell to his son, with Frigga shadowing him and Rhea watching from afar. Ase looked into her mother's eyes with an indescribable emptiness. Since their last conversation, Rhea had not discussed Ase's plan to infiltrate Jotunheim. They were proceeding with their plans, no doubt, for Rhea had begun teaching her in the arts of Dark Magic—something Ase could not accomplish in a short period of time, and had no choice but to learn after the battle in Vanaheim. Rhea taught her deeper into the arts of sorcery, and even gave her a book about enchanting, which Ase gratefully accepted. She had not told Rhea about her plans with the newfound skill. At least, not now. She had not met with Loki since then either.

Odin finally dismissed Thor and walked back to the city, passing Ase without a single care of her presence. The army began marching towards the Bifrost, and soon beams of light emerged from the dome.

"Are you ready?" Sif asked, tapping Ase's shoulder. Ase glanced at her and shrugged her shoulders. Honestly, this would be her first time engaged in an open assault, on the offensive side. They would be transported just right in front of the capital of Vanaheim, a direct attack meant to surprise the Marauders. It was risky, but Odin was sure they would accomplish their mission quickly. Normally, one would be nervous, but Ase had lived in a world full of wars. This would eventually pass.

Ase clenched her staff as she and Sif entered the dome, along with the other soldiers. Asgardians were truly amazing with their speed, for in a matter of days they had completely reconstructed a grand golden dome embellished with carvings and ruins. Heimdall was back to his post, watching over the departed army with his ever-seeing eyes.

"Whenever you are ready," said Heimdall. Ase drew a deep breath.

"Let us go," Sif instructed. Heimdall turned his sword and a stream of rainbow filled Ase's vision. Her body felt as light as a feather as it left the ground. It was very dizzying for her, now that she was trained to sense her surrounding energies. To the ordinary eyes, the Bifrost was a simple method of transportation, but to a sorceress, it was a stream of very powerful energies. As they passed through different realms, Ase could feel different sorts of energies. At one point, she sensed a very familiar place.

 _Earth._ This was not the time to miss the place she could not go to.

"Get ready!" Sif shouted. Just then, the beam of light dispersed away, and Ase was greeted with a scene of a chaotic battle. They had landed on a field outside the capital city of Vanaheim, which was surrounded by tall walls blocking their path. Asgardian soldiers were clashing with the Marauders, and although the rebels were showing their might as oppositions against Asgardian rule. Ase was instantly bemused, for something was not right. They had landed too far away from the city.

"Magic barriers," Ase explained to her own credit. "They prevented us from entering further closer to the capital. They knew we were coming."

"Well, it's too late to retreat," Sif remarked as she spun her spear. "Charge!"

Sif instantly charged towards the enemies, her spear slashing her opponents madly. Ase stood still for a brief moment and reassessed their situation. The last of the Asgardian army arrived and it appears that they were equal in number—which was strange, considering Asgardian is a major power in the nine realms. Perhaps the incident with Jotunheim had scarred created more rebels against Asgard, many more people distrusting Odin's rule. After another second of observation, Ase came upon an ironic realisation. Although Asgardians were brilliant fighters, they were not brilliant strategists. This battle was clearly blindly planned, for they were only fighting brutally while ignoring the fact that they were easy preys of archers on top of the city walls. This battle should not have been commanded by Thor.

"Thor!" Ase screamed, finally shifting from her ground. She broke through the enemies like a war horse, determined to reach Thor first. "Thor, we need to get out—"

Suddenly, her ears caught sharp sounds of arrows dividing the air. Ase stopped and looked into the sky. A barrage of arrows was flying towards them. Ase instinctively extended her hand and created as massive a force field as she could to protect their forces. Alas, many still fell victim to the arrows. Ase inhaled a sharp breath as she noticed another array of arrows being notched to their bowstrings.

Ase sprinted towards Thor and blasted all the enemies occupying his rational thoughts. He gaped at her. "We need to get out of the open field!" she shouted. A wave of arrows was released, this time too quickly for her to form another force field. Ase pulled Thor back and faced the sky. She drew a stream of energy from her surroundings and reached for the sky. A soft strong gust of wind stopped the arrows in the air and turned them into frozen incarnations, glistening under the bright sun. Asgardian soldiers stopped on their heels when they saw ice arrows broke beside their feet. They immediately glanced at her. Ase looked away.

"Move into the forests. Or else the arrows are going to kill us all," Ase ordered him. Thor nodded brokenly and turned to the rest of the soldiers.

"Retreat!" Thor boomed. "Make way to the forests!"

The soldiers scrambled quickly towards the dense greenery. Ase lagged behind, watching the enemies movements while buying the others time. Thor nudged Ase in the shoulder.

"Are you sure they are not chasing us?" asked Thor.

"They won't risk fighting in the forest, but we still need to build magic barriers, just in case. How many sorcerers you have, including me?" said Ase.

"Three," Thor told her. Ase questioned his decision to bring so few sorcerers, to which he replied, "Father believed it is sufficient, considering the limited battle sorcerers we have. He wants to use the rest to settle peace in other realms." Ah, she remembered that other realms were also in the time of need, just not as dire as Vanaheim.

"You do realise that Vanaheim produces the best of sorcerers right?" Ase remarked. Thor shrugged his shoulders and was silent until a ball of flame exploded beside him. Thor staggered forward and stared at the crater it created. "And the rebels have them as well," Ase added. "Get the sorcerers. At the very least we can hold them off."

More fireballs blasted the field, but the Asgardians managed to enter the forest before they were incinerated first. Ase gathered with the two other sorcerers and performed a barrier spell. An invisible wall emerged from the ground, which prevented the Marauders from entering their new hideout. Ase smiled slightly in satisfaction, for she had learnt the spell just the other day. Maintaining it against continuous magic fireballs would be a challenge with just three sorcerers, but Ase was sure her immense energy was enough to keep the barrier standing.

"Bloody hell, did you even plan this thing?" Ase protested.

"Loki used to plan everything for us," Thor admitted, breathing heavily. "Could use some of his brain right now… although his plans might turn upside down."

Ase rolled her eyes. "At least you have someone in the right mind to strategise the war," she sighed.

Obviously, Ase's opinion was not that popular, for she immediately received conspicuous frowns from Thor and the Warriors Three. She shrugged their expressions off and instead ran her gaze across the battlefield. Seeing their appearance, the completeness of their equipment and the confidence in their faces, Ase came upon a revelation.

"They knew we are attacking today," Ase told the company. "They are prepared."

"Are you saying that there is a spy amongst us?" asked Sif, baffled by her silent suggestion.

"I am afraid it is more complicated than that," interrupted Hogun. The company stared at him curiously, for his tone was dismissive and in disbelief. "You see, my people are not only excellent sorcerers, but they also can see into the future. I believe at least one of the Marauders have predicted our arrival."

 _Of course they must have prophetic sight,_ Ase mused to herself. "So it is impossible for us to launch a surprise attack?" asked Ase as she bit her nail.

"Not entirely. Our prophetic sight is occasional, often inconstant. We cannot be sure, however, for each of our plans to be unpredictable," explained Hogun. While Sif and the others were protesting at how Hogun had hidden this fact from the rest of the army, Ase retreated behind the shadows to think. She mayhap be a fighter, but she was certainly not a strategist. Cunning as she may be, she was not well-versed in the arts of war, nor was she able to procure a stupid method to rampage past their enemies.

 _If he were here, it would be easier,_ Ase thought as she scratched her head. She blinked and looked up. Was she thinking about him just now, in this time and place? Now that she delved into her thoughts, she sensed a tinge of worry burdening her mind. He was now there, all alone, around a circle of people who could only see him as a monster. Imagining it was too painful for her.

 _I need to get this done, soon,_ Ase told herself. Just then, Thor tapped her shoulder, and stopped her train of thoughts. He was grinning mischievously, with his friends backing him up. Ase raised a brow, for she had a feeling that whatever plans he was about to tell her, it would not be good.

oOo

It was too quiet.

Not that he did not embrace the solitude given after the uncomfortable conversation between his mentor and his new partner in crime. It was just… too quiet without her being around. He was not bored, no, for he had indulged his free time in Ase's e-books—whatever those are called. He had learnt that Ase liked to read queer books on controversies and angsty fiction, but she also read an abundance of historical books and texts.

In the short period of time in his cell, he had learnt much of Midgard's recent history, how so many wars had been waged in the past century, how mankind had created various weapons to annihilate one another, and how now they were fighting for rights while at the same time disregarding the living rights of other people. Mankind had fought against one another because they held power over the weaker ones. Then he also read historical figures who turned this perspective upside down, those fighting for peace against the world. Midgard was certainly like Asgard, though more violent and exciting, more transparent and less secretive.

Where was Asgard when all these events occurred in that small world? Hadn't their task was to bring peace and balance to the Nine Realms? Why had _he,_ the God of Mischief and the most curious and cunning of all Asgardians, not noticed the changes in Midgard? The fact that Asgard was living in peace whereas Midgard was ravaged in wars was unsettling him, and it further unsettled him that even now only Thor had dared to step directly into that world to make things right.

Why was he, a villain who had killed so many people, sympathising with people he did not even know?

He heard footsteps coming from the hallway. Loki looked up from his device and saw Rhea standing before him, wearing a cloak which concealed her own body and only showed her head protruding from red velvet. He scoffed at her baffling appearance.

"Now what are you doing here, trespassing my domain, _Master?_ " Loki said with a smirk.

"Ever the mischievous speaker aren't you, my apprentice?" Rhea replied with a sigh. "I come here to talk, that is why."

"You know there is a price in getting words out of my mouth," teased Loki further. He saw annoyance scarring Rhea's face, but in his secluded cell, nothing could touch him, not even the wrath of the most powerful sorceress in the palace.

"Well then, let me correct myself," Rhea spoke calmly. "I come here simply to warn you."

Loki tensed. "Of what?"

"Of getting too close to Ase," Rhea added. "Because from what I know, Loki, is that you have never ever had no intentions when you befriend people."

"Mayhap you are wrong," Loki shot back. "How long have I been your apprentice again? Ah, 100 years. Things have changed since I last received your tutelage."

"Or nothing has changed. It is very difficult for people to change," Rhea argued. "You have been scheming with her behind my back and heaven knows what you are doing next."

"I am not doing anything," Loki insisted. For once, he did not lie. "I am merely helping her reunite with a family member in Jotunheim, and you are helping her too."

"Under what grounds?"

"Because she has been nice to me," Loki replied, raising his brows. _That was a foolish answer, Loki!_ he scolded himself. It was driven by his emotions and not his logic. Rhea stared at him incredulously, judging him with her sharp bronze eyes. Obviously she would not believe his excuse. In fact, ever since he had established himself as the God of Mischief, Rhea had stopped believing in his words.

"I see," Rhea simply replied. Rhea's passiveness truly surprised Loki, for he had expected more words of accusations from her. What was her true purpose in visiting him?

"I have never seen you talk to someone like you talk to Ase before," Rhea continued lowly, her visage softening slightly. "You always see someone as a comrade whom you can use for your ministrations... Always the careful and calculating person, but in front of her you seem very different."

Had he? Well, he had not realised it before, but Rhea was not a woman of lies. Her observations had always been accurate, and her words now hid nothing either. Now that he thought of it, their first encounter was so different from a classic hero-nemesis confrontation. She had looked at him with a strange gaze, as if she had known him from the past. She saw not only an enemy, but a man who had gone so much that his pain was manifesting on his face. Her gaze conveyed so many messages in a single moment, and instantly Loki knew that she too shared a similar pain with him.

"The burden of using the Dark Magic upon oneself is very terrible," Rhea explained. "None have ever survived casting that spell to themselves. She will not come back alive."

Loki widened his eyes as he heard of this revelation. He knew it was dangerous to perform Dark Magic by oneself, but to cost her life? Rhea stepped closer towards the cell barrier, her face solemn and filled with dark anxiety.

"I am pleading you, Loki, as her friend… Please dissuade her from doing this. Please save Ase from herself."

oOo

"This is bloody stupid," Ase groaned. "And reckless."

"I think this is brilliant," Thor retorted with an awkward grin on his face. Ase glared at him menacingly as she fumbled with her fingers. "I've seen it being done before in Midgard. What was it called? Ice-sliding?"

"Ice skating," Ase corrected as she scratched her head. "I've never done it before and I am not wholly sure if the enemies are going to slide at all… Or instead of us falling like stupid fools."

"What's ice skating?" Sif wondered. "Seriously, Thor, I doubt your plan even if I don't understand that word."

"We won't know until we try," Thor reasoned. "Just remember that your and the sorcerers' task is to break their defences. Leave the rest to us." Ase sighed and finally surrendered to Thor's will. She returned her staff to her belt and scouted the enemies beyond the barrier. The Marauders were surrounding them cautiously, like predators eyeing their prey. She may have practiced quite a bit, but her winter powers were still unnatural to her. She need time and diversion.

Ase looked at Thor, raising her brows. Thor immediately understood what she required and flipped his hammer. "Shall we?" Thor said to his friends. They nodded with nervous smiles and readied themselves. The other two sorcerers, having been briefed of this outrageous plan, marched forward towards the barrier and placed their hands upon it. Their chants came in small whispers, before the air before them was lifted, like a sheet of paper, and disappeared.

Thor had whirled his hammer then, calling upon a huge lighting to his weapon, and as the barrier was eliminated, he cried a battle cry and fired all his power to the army before him. The enemy lines exploded into pieces, the soldiers scattered in fear. Ase closed her eyes and gathered the energy around her. Never the poor apprentice, she drew the powers of Earth as well. Her hands were brimming with energy and, as the dust which had obscured her opponents dissipated, she landed her hands on the solid Earth and unleashed all the magic she had stored. The land was painted white in an instant, followed by glistening and smooth ice which did not leave the soldiers' feet untouched.

Behind her, the Warriors Three gasped in awe, or horror, and so were the rest of their comrades. Ase rose from the ground and pulled out her staff. She could see her bloodshot eyes reflected on the ice, but she cared not. She glanced over her shoulder, to her comrades. "Well, aren't you going to support me?" she said, before she sprinted towards the city walls in a series of mad footsteps. It took several seconds before the Asgardians charged, screaming insanely. Apparently, Ase was not the fastest runner, for Sif immediately overtook her and opened a path for her to reach the city. Ase smiled as she whizzed past the woman, who gave her a reassuring look.

Far beyond, Thor was rampaging upon his opponents, his figure constantly disheveled by the blinding streaks of lightning of his weapon. Ase quickened her pace and saw that the two sorcerers were catching up with her. Arrows were fired at them, but Ase deflected all of them with her force and continued to sprint forward. Soon enough, the city walls were before them, gigantic and menacing, like a titan looming over them.

"There is indeed a magic barrier," said one of the sorcerers as he observed the city's defence. "A strong one at that. It can be broken, fortunately, with a strong spell as well. I am not sure Lady Rhea has taught you this before, Lady Ase."

"But we need three people to do this," said the other. "She needs to learn it now."

Ase, trusting her own instinct in a blind urgency, merely nodded. "I hope I am a fast learner," she said.

"Hold hands," said the female sorcerer. Ase obeyed and entwined her fingers with the sorcerers. The male sorcerer explained the mechanics of the spell in a series of rapped words. He told her to link and their energies together, which required immense concentration that seemed impossible in this chaotic battlefield. But Ase merely nodded and focused herself, ignoring the war surrounding them. It was difficult at first, for she had never linked with other sorcerers before. She glimpsed flashes of memories, a consequence of bonding with another conscience, and struggled to brush them aside. To her, their energies were like threads, trying to connect with one another to form a long, thick string.

Ase was aware that an arrow almost hit them, before Thor managed to crush it with his hammer. "I've got this under control!" she heard Sif shouting.

"Is that why everything is on fire?" Thor remarked. _Bloody, all these people are taking this too lightly._

"Ready," spoke the male sorcerer. He placed his palm on the magic barrier, and in a sudden, the threads of energies condensed into one sharp needle which was strong enough to pierce through the barrier, like breaking a large glass. Ase could literally hear it shattering, and before she realized it, nothing laid before her.

"Your turn, Lady Ase," instructed the sorceress. Ase heaved and drew her staff. Above, people were screaming in panic, trying to rebuild another barrier. But Ase left them no more time, and with a mighty swing, she unleashed a force so great it created a shockwave across the battlefield as it crumbled the wall into pieces.

Ase covered her face as the dust settled around her. The sorcerers gaped at the sight, almost in fear. "The doors are open!" screamed Ase. The Asgardian army immediately took her signal and flooded the city. Ase staggered back, still shaken by the amount of power she had just exerted. She turned around to search for Thor and his company, and found that he was wrestling with a rocky giant. Thor easily crushed his opponent with his hammer, smashing him into minute rock rubbles. Ase suddenly felt detached of the current situation. All around her people streamed in without a sound, their movements like waves crashing against a rock.

Then she suddenly felt it, cold air brushing her skin, in the warm plane of Vanaheim. She gasped and searched around, but her scenery remained unchanged. The cold continued, it came out of nowhere, but she could sense it. She could feel the connection from this unknown plane.

"Ase!" Sif shouted as she shook Ase's shoulder. The cold disappeared and Ase returned back to Vanaheim. "Are you alright?"

Ase blinked several times before nodding. Sif looked relieved and urged her to enter the city as well. She told her that the battle soon would be over now that they had breached their defences. Ase merely followed and fought without exactly being present in the battlefield. The battle seemed so short, yet so slow. And when it ended, when the people screamed victory to each other, when peace was finally restored to Vanaheim, Ase could only stand still. At that moment, amidst the noise the soldiers generated, she returned to herself, and knew that the feeling she had had just then was a connection. A connection to the land of the Frost Giants.

Someone was calling to her.

* * *

 **A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! (at least, in my country). I hope you have a very pleasant holiday and for that, here is another consecutive chapter as a present from me! This chapter fits quite a lot in as the story must not stall in Ase's arc forever. I've inserted what I thought the battle in Vanaheim could be, which involved magic and stuff. So yeah, another creative liberty which I do not regret to use.**

 **Anyways, I hope you like the story so far. Thank you for the reads, follows, favourites, and reviews. All of them do encourage me to continue this story, although its performance is not as hopeful as my previous one. If you want some music I've selected for each chapter, do check my Wattpad account under the same name. See you around!**


	18. 0207: Outside, Inside

**A/N: I am changing the plot line for the battle slightly a bit. Just for the sake of convenience.**

The battle had been fought in just two days. It was a magnificent feat, especially considering their slight disadvantage at the start of the battle. As they conquered the city back, the soldiers were finally allowed to rest and tend to the wound. Ase stayed back with Hogun to treat the injured in the city hall, whereas Thor and the others extinguished the last flames of the rebellion. They would be gone for She found the simple healing spell Rhea had taught her just before her departure useful in these times. Truth to be told, she found it encouraging that she was useful in fields other than fighting. She was certainly not as barbaric as she had thought.

"We saw you controlling the ice back there," Hogun remarked as he dressed the wound of a soldier. Ase flinched and looked up from her patient. None had brought up this topic until now. "I must admit that our surprise cannot be overstated."

"Are you afraid of me?" asked Ase hesitantly. "To know who I am?"

Hogun pondered, but shook his head. "I don't know about the others, but I myself am not. You have helped us in settling peace, and perhaps will continue to do so."

"Didn't Loki do that as well? Ase wondered. Hogun remained silent until he finished his task with his current patient. Then he turned to Ase, his face solemn.

"I admit he has done us some good, although not in always expected forms, but his latest crimes have wrought his name doom. I am not afraid of him, no, but I am afraid of his actions. He may be a villain, but he is still a being at heart. As long as he is a being of the universe, he is not to be afraid of."

It was known that Hogun was the wisest of Thor's company, but his words had changed Ase's perception of him entirely. "Thank you," whispered Ase. Hogun nodded sternly, before he rose to his feet and moved to another soldier. Ase paused for a moment before she continued with her patient. He was apparently not Asgardian, but he was caught in the battle for protecting several children from the Marauders. She noticed he was a sorcerer, though not as powerful as those around him.

"Thank you, my lady," he said to her. "You are quite different than the others," he added.

Ase smiled weakly. "I am not from Asgard, so I assume as much—"

Her patient had clutched her arm, with a strength questionable for a sick man like him. Ase shivered when she saw that his eyes had turned white, and that he was staring at her. "Sir? Are you alright?" she inquired.

" _Child,"_ he said, his voice ethereal. Ase widened her eyes. " _If you enter the land of the winter, where the giants reside, you shall find not happiness, but sadness. If you enter the land of frost, calamity shall befall upon you. Darkness follows."_

Ase was terrified by his declaration and could not act once he slumped back to the floor. She was panting in fear, trying to comprehend what she had seen. She clearly understood what he had meant, but was that simply him sleep-talking or something else? She carefully shook him and he woke up, oblivious of what he had done. "Sir? What happened?"

He touched his forehead, as if stricken by a painful headache, before speaking. "I was in the dark, for a moment. Ah, it must be the prophetic sight. It certainly comes at the most unexpected times—"

A bead of cold sweat trickled down her cheek. "You mean what you say is going to happen?" she said—it was more of a statement than a question. The man nodded confidently.

"Our visions are not simply instinctive thoughts, you see. They always happen, and most often it is in the near future. But who knows?" he explained with a boastful laughter. He looked at her and his laughter died down. "What's wrong, my lady? What did I say?"

Ase shook her head and smiled once more. "Nothing. It was a good thing you said. I am much more relieved now," she lied. Her lie was very artfully conceived, and the man did not once doubt her answer.

"That's good! I am glad," he remarked.

"Yes," Ase said. "I am."

oOo

What had been a two-day skirmish had stretched to a month of battle against all rebels across the nine realms. He knew this from the increasing number of prisoners passing his cell, his new friends whom he would not talk to at all. None had visited him during this period of time, except for Frigga's occasional illusions, constantly reminding him of his 'true' self and trying to persuade him to return to his old self. But things had changed too much, and there was no way for him to go back.

Loki had ignored Ase's e-books after his conversation with Rhea. He was consumed by the thoughts of Ase being dismembered when she transports herself from Jotunheim back to Asgard. It was an unthinkable thing and imagining it only made him nauseous. Rhea had not talked again about this topic, perhaps because she was occupied by the waged battles herself. It was, apparently, up to him to convince the woman to stop her intentions. It would be terribly difficult, considering how stubborn she was. Even the God of Mischief was not capable of dissuading a woman whose alias literally implied immobility.

Finally, the day of Ase's return came. He did not know this directly, but he knew once he saw Rhea in front of his cell. As usual, the immaculate sorceress, she appeared unscathed from whatever circumstances she was put into. "We've won," Rhea coldly reported, folding her arms. "The havoc you've wrought upon has finally been extinguished. Peace reigned over the Nine Realms once more."

"Such a pity," Loki instead retorted, slouching onto his chair. "Peace causes a false sense of security amongst us."

"Well, that false sense of security has been eradicated, though no gratitude shall be given to you," Rhea argued sharply. She then smiled falsely and lifted her chin. "But that is not the point, is it now? Ase is returning and it is time to convince her out of this madness."

"I've thought about it and it is impossible," Loki said reluctantly. This certainly undermined his confidence, but it is better to be ashamed now than later. Rhea was visibly dismayed by this. "Listen, Ma'am, I have confronted Ase in a more threatening circumstance before and even then she could not be swayed by my words."

A cough came from the end of the hallway. Loki glanced and saw Ase standing there, glaring at them incredulously. She marched steadily towards then and stopped with a loud clack of her boots. Loki noticed that she had changed her outfit to that similar to Asgardian armour, and it suited her very well. Unlike Rhea, she was slightly battered from the skirmish. Her long cascading hair was smeared by dust and soil, her armour slightly bent here and then, her clothing torn along the muddy edges. She looked elegant still.

"Are you discussing my fate without my permission?" she inquired. "Oh, for your knowledge, my senses have somehow heightened after the battles. Bloody rebels."

Rhea cleared her throat and straightened her back. "I am pretty sure you know that the risk of using Dark Magic by yourself is death."

"I know," Ase said, which startled both Loki and Rhea, for they certainly had not told her of this. "At least, that's what I thought." Once she saw that both were filled with question, she relaxed herself and lowered her voice. Her visage was filled with grim and fear. She was never this frightened before.

"In Vanaheim, I met a sorcerer who has a prophetic sight," Ase explained slowly. "He told me that if I go to Jotunheim, I will only meet sadness there… I will only befallen by calamity."

Silence. They were not drowned in worry, for they knew that the words spoken by a Vanir was rarely wrong, and rarely clear. "Well, I believe we now have a clear _reason_ why you should not go there," Rhea finally spoke proudly, as if victory was at hand.

"I didn't say I am going back," Ase said. The colour from Rhea's face was drained from her, and she scowled miserably. Loki wanted to frown and laugh at Ase's stubbornness—one because he did not want her to foolishly kill herself, and the other because he adored her audacity in challenging fate. Rhea, meanwhile, was terribly dismayed by her attitude. Little did she know that Ase had gone through much more than this to fear death anymore. "I am sure there is a way to prevent my death," Ase added.

This triggered Rhea "You are one stubborn lad—"

"There is a way," Loki interrupted her. He stood up from his seat and approached the two. Rhea was threatening him with her gaze, while Ase was visibly curious of his idea. _Please for heaven's sake stop whatever you are saying,_ Rhea warned. But Loki cared not and smirked. "I think as her mentor you should explain it yourself, Lady Rhea."

Rhea scoffed audibly, annoyed by Loki's sense of authority, but decided to obey his instructions—just so that she could further convince Ase to divert from this path. "To transport you to another realm, we sorcerers draw the energy from the Bifrost, a dimensional energy so powerful that, in order for us to use it efficiently, we need to construct Heimdall's Observatory as well as the Rainbow Bridge. It is very taxing to the body for a single sorcerer to tap into Bifrost, so two sorcerers share the burden and cast the Dark Magic together. If a person uses it alone, however…"

"The body may fall apart, I know," Ase continued in her stead. "So how are we going to counter that?"

"I've thought this for a while," Loki explained. "Actually, I thought of this instead of how to persuade you. We can replace the 'other body' with another object which can channel the energy and reduce the rate of flow, such that your body won't be as burdened as before."

Rhea was actually impressed by his idea, nodding simultaneously with Ase. Loki smiled in satisfaction, for he had just thought of this now. "But where are we going to get that material? I've been a sorcerer all my life and not even once I've seen something like that."

"Unlike you, I've actually delved into the darker parts of Asgard," Loki boasted. "I've found a stone that can exactly do this, from a shopkeeper who actually owes me something. The only thing we need to do is to demand his pay."

Rhea and Ase looked at each other. Where had this man ventured to during his free times in Asgard? "Right then, it's simple. We just need to ask for the payment, correct?" Rhea said in exasperation.

Loki shook his head and scoffed. "It's complicated. He needs to see me in person before he can deliver."

"So you are saying that you need to get out of this cell?" Rhea asked. Loki merely raised his brows. Rhea let out a sinister laughter whilst looking around, assuring herself that none had heard. "You are insane to think one will allow that."

"Well, currently this is your only choice, unless you have any other suggestions?" Loki challenged her.

"Getting you out will be high treason!" defended Rhea.

"It won't unless nobody knows," Loki suggested. "It's easy, Rhea. Just a simple illusion and a tweak to the security system. I know you were the one who designed this cell. You must know how to break it."

"It is not a matter of breaking you out or not, but it's whether you are going to kill someone while you are out there," Rhea spoke quickly. Loki replied this with a laughter.

"I assure you I will," Loki retorted, causing Rhea to redden in anger. But he turned to Ase instead, who had been listening tentatively like a silent scholar. "But I believe Ase has a method to tackle that."

Rhea looked at Ase in high hopes. "You do?"

"It is why I've wished to learn enchanting, mother," Ase explained. "There is a better reason behind it, but that isn't important right now. What I thought was that we can use handcuff." Seeing Rhea's disappointed look, Ase continued with more confidence. "What I mean is we put a tracker on the cuffs so he won't go anywhere. And then we customize the lock so only I can open it and, if anything happens, I can shut him down."

"Pardon me?" Loki interrupted. "Shut me down? You mean to kill m—"

"That's a bloody exaggeration, haven't you read in one of my books?" Ase said as she rolled her eyes. "I've studied basics of computers and engineering back on Earth. I believe I can apply the concepts here as well. Is it possible?"

Rhea bit her lip and pondered for a moment. Knowing Rhea, she was actually constructing the said device in her head, its structure and required enchantments. Why was she so determined in helping her daughter, who did not even acknowledge her? This ploy was threatening her position and her life as a sorceress, yet why did she continue? Had it been a way of redeeming herself?

Rhea nodded as a sign of affirmation. Ase signed in relief. "When do we start?" Loki asked eagerly.

"The victory celebration," Ase offered in whispers. "Which coincides with the Asgardian arts festival. There will be more crowd there, and Odin's attention will be driven elsewhere, towards the wellbeing of his people. When the festival starts, we will break you out."

Loki stared at her in awe. Her plan sounded as if she had done this for years; a terrific criminal whose mind had been trained to turn the tables against her opponents. If she had lived in a different life, more violent world, she might have just been the most malevolent enemy to ever exist.

Ironically, Loki was grateful that did not happen.

oOo

The festival started with the rising sun, shining its light upon Asgard's new day. Since daybreak, people had started celebrating their victory, reveling in food and drinks, as well as the performances which embody the Asgardian arts festival. In the midst of roars and chaos, Ase could not help but wonder how Asgardians rose so quickly from their devastating battles and tragedies. There was no sign of grief in the people, even the widows whose husbands had sacrificed themselves to maintain peace across the nine realms. There was even more exuberance than the greatest parties on Earth, and it terrified Ase to a certain degree.

Ase's current task, however, was not to ogle the Asgardian's excessive joy, but to smuggle a prisoner out of his cell for a couple of hours. She and Rhea had managed to construct a bracelet instead of handcuffs—those would attract unwanted attention—with a kind of magical tracking device which would inform Ase and Rhea of Loki's whereabouts. As for the safety precautions… The lock could only be opened using Rhea's blood, and this was not known by Loki. They avoided using any spells because according to Rhea, Loki was actually a brilliant sorcerer who knows almost all magic spells. Then there was the emergency mechanism, which would electrocute Loki to unconsciousness if he dared to escape.

The hallway towards his cell was generally empty, which was in their favour. Ase and Rhea walked casually towards the cell, nodding at the guards whom Ase knew well from her frequent visits here. "This better well work," Rhea protested as they stopped before his living quarters. From beneath her cloak, Ase procured the bracelet, and showed it briefly to Loki. He was amused that the said handcuffs had changed shape. Rhea whispered words and began summoning an illusion spell.

"Disguise as a guard once the spell is up," Ase instructed quietly. "And put your hands on your head when you get out"

Loki nodded. Rhea finished performing her spell. Though one, especially the normal guards, could not sense anything, Ase could feel thin walls surrounding them. Rhea step forward and began bypassing the prison cell. The magic barrier dissipated into thin air and Loki marched out. Ase put the bracelet around his wrist, which she noticed was considerably thinner. She pursed her lips.

"The bracelet restricts any magic spells except your illusions," Ase explained as Rhea closed the cell and procured an fake Loki inside the room. Catching her cue, he grinned and transformed into a typical Asgardian guard. "I will put a cloaking spell on you until we get out of the prison."

Ase signalled Rhea to cancel the illusion spell and she instantly did. "Good luck," Rhea whispered as the spell wore off. Ase could see the anxiety on her face, but did not question it. Why was she helping her this far?

Rhea walked away towards the sorcerers' tower quietly, as if nothing had happened. Ase pretended to talk to 'Loki' inside his cell for several sentences, before she marched towards the exit. Beside her, the invisible Loki raised a brow. Ase smiled at the guards again before she finally arrived at the palace corridors. Loki emerged from his hiding as an Asgardian guard.

"Have you thought the possibility that the guards will talk to my copycat?" Loki whispered.

"Well, you never try to speak to the guards to begin with, so it won't be a problem. In addition, lunch will not be until 6 hours from now. Your copycat is safe and sound," explained Ase surely. "Once we exit the palace, you need to disguise yourself as a civilian and wear this cloak," she continued as she shoved a brown cloak to him. "Afterwards, you lead the way."

Loki simply nodded. They continued to walk towards the palace gates, unobstructed by anyone. But it seemed fate wanted to test them.

"Hide," Ase suddenly whispered. Loki was bemused until he saw Thor walking towards their distraction. Loki instantly diverted his path and let Ase confront the god himself.

"Ase, where are you going?" Thor asked. "I believe you know that there is a feast now, correct?"

"I would rather not stay with you guys," Ase reasoned grimly. "It is not really a comfort for me… to stay with people I've just met, especially after the battle."

"Don't say that. You were regarded as hero. They never judge your powers anymore," Thor insisted. Ase shook her head and tapped her friend's shoulders.

"I don't think so. Do not mind me. I can find joy in my solitude," Ase said. Thor relented and finally accepted her wish. He bid her farewell and disappeared into the palace. Ase sighed and signalled Loki to come forth. They continued their journey.

"Was that a lie?" Loki inquired.

"It's not," Ase answered. Loki slowly came to a halt and Ase paused her steps. She turned to him and wanted to question his action, until she saw his face. He was seeing the festivities with nostalgic eyes, his lungs almost not breathing. Ase remained quiet and gave him time to swallow his surroundings. Loki closed his eyes and smiled as he felt the warmth of the sun and the sound of the crowd, things so devoid in his gruesome prison.

People might say he was a sociopathic villain, but she believed that deep down he was still a humane living being. She too, marvelled on what she was seeing, for this was her first time to experience an event like this. Not that she had not attended festivals around the world—she had, once, visited the Day of the Dead festival, and it was one of the most beautiful events he had attended—but she rarely made time for it. In fact, she rarely made time for herself, inexplicably. She had always busied herself in vigilante work and intelligence work, which was worsened with her involvement in S.H.I.E.L.D. But here, she felt more freedom, but more challenges as well.

"Loki, we need to walk," Ase told him. He nodded blankly continued his steps, transforming into a normal citizen instantly. He clasped his cloak and pulled up his hood whilst continuing his observations to the surroundings. Ase pulled up her own hood. "Do you like this festival?" Ase asked again, out of curiosity, for he seemed like an excited child when he saw the performances held in the city square.

"I used to come here, as a child," Loki admitted with a sad smile. He seemed not even interested to the opportunity of escaping—which was almost impossible, considering Rhea was not there to donate her blood. He was swallowed by the memories flooding into his mind, unable to dam it inside and poured all his emotions to his face. Perhaps prison time softened his soul a little bit.

"You didn't seem like the artsy type," Ase teased him with a nudge of her elbow.

"I would prefer the library better but… Sometimes music can soothe the soul," Loki explained shyly. Ase laughed gleefully, not expecting this secret from the man himself. Loki snorted and went on, leading them from the festival and to the suburbs, where the crowd soon died out and only trees remained. Ase actually was drenched in wariness, for she did not know anything about the 'darker parts' of Asgard Loki was referring to. She instinctively moved her hand towards her disassembled parts.

"Do not worry," Loki said with a chuckle, apparently amused by her cautiousness. "I am not bringing you to the slums or the black market or anything, just to a very old friend." Ase raised a brow and decided not to obey him. Loki shrugged his shoulders. They stopped by the river and called a helmsman, who was surprisingly not occupied in the business of the day. Loki told him to take them towards the river delta, and to make it quick. The helmsman apparently was confused, as it was rare for his customers—particularly couples—to not spend their time drifting on the river. Ase immediately corrected his view and stated that they were not a couple, receiving Loki's furtive smirk.

And thus began their awkward boat journey towards their unknown destination. Loki, to her surprised, did not speak of a word. Instead he observed the scenery, his mind wandering elsewhere she could not guess.

Quite a long moment later, the boat stopped and docked at the river delta. Ase jumped out and stretched herself, wondering where they had arrived. It was a very secluded neighbourhood. There were no more large buildings, only small humble wooden cottages for fishermen and their families. Ase paid the helmsman some money and told him to wait.

"I am surprised you have a friend here," Ase told him.

"You should be surprised how far one can wander for solitude," Loki explained. Here, as if sure no one was watching them, he put down his camouflage and emerged as his own self. He took a brief meaningful look at Ase before proceeding to one of the cottages. He cleared his throat and knocked the floor gently. Ase blinked several times, trying to comprehend the look he gave her just now, before following his footsteps.

The door opened and a very ancient man welcomed them. He was very short, almost dwarvish, with a white beard covering his whole torso. He widened his eyes when he saw Loki, and judged him in disbelief.

"Loki?" asked him. The lack of honourifics hinted his relationship with the former Prince of Asgard.

"Hello," Loki greeted back. The old man's beard was lifted and he embraced Loki briefly. It was like a very touching reunion between the most dangerous man in Asgard and an unknown stranger.

"What are you doing here, lad? I thought you were captured!" the man said before he caught Ase's presence. "And who is this lady? I've never thought you the woman player."

"She is not," Loki corrected before Ase could respond. "She is a friend, and I am helping her. For that, I need to collect an old debt."

The man rubbed his beard and narrowed his eyes. "That's… five hundred years ago."

"I have a strong memory," Loki added, receiving a nod from his friend. "I need a particular stone, the one you mentioned capable of channeling energies?"

"Ah, that I have. Fortunate for you," the man replied. He urged them to enter his humble home. Ase stifled a gasp when she saw what the man had to offer. Instead of fish hooks and fish nets, his house was filled with stones and jewels, suspicious trinkets emanating magical energies. There were weapons as well, ranging from bows to maces to daggers.

"You are a merchant," Ase realised.

"And a mentor," Loki added. "He's my mentor in the play of words. Master of deception and trickery, persuasion and action."

"I am the father of his title the Silver Tongue," the man explained. He was at the corner of his cottage, but his voice still boomed with confidence that it echoed across the rooms. "Though I rarely used it outside my business. But this young prince came to me, by coincidence, and noticed my skills. He pleaded to me to learn my ways and I taught him as a manner of honouring his position. He was not unlawful to me. In turn he gave me new business partners, and sometimes money. He saved me once from a gang of criminals—kind of ironic, really."

"The last one is the debt he is repaying now," Loki ended. The man returned with a small stone, the colour of blood, which was tangled with a string. It was a necklace, simple and inconspicuous to the ordinary eye. But to her, it was something special. Loki received it gingerly and studied it for a second.

"I never thought it was a necklace," Loki wondered.

"Well, the stone was too pretty to be left alone, so I created something out of it using my craftsmanship—at least, what little of it," the merchant explained.

Loki turned to Ase and approached her. He showed her necklace, its pendant dangling midair. From his gesture, Ase instinctively lifted her hair and let Loki clasped the necklace around her neck. He leaned forward, encircling her neck with his arms. Ase looked up and flinched when she realised he was very close. Loki too froze and stared for a few seconds. There was an indescribable connection between them at that moment, not hostility, but of something else. Ase slowly looked down.

Loki lingered before he hesitantly pulled back. "Try use a difficult spell, preferable that which draws more power. Let's see if it works," Loki instructed. They exited the building and faced the river. She only realised it then, but she had been breathing more quickly than before. She ignored this fact and instead concentrated on her spell. She resorted to a fire spell, which would not attract much attention, and tied to perform it as quickly as possible. Not a moment later, a tornado of flames burst from the water, evaporating the surrounding body in a matter of seconds. Ase opened her eyes and was impressed to find no burden on her body after the quick yet advanced spell.

She turned to Loki, smiling in satisfaction childishly. He returned her smile with his signature smirk, not speaking anymore words except thanking for his mentor' generosity.

"I am glad I am of use, my friend," the merchant said. Loki shook his hand.

"I am too," Loki said as a word of farewell. He rejoined Ase on the boat. The helmsman wordlessly paddled them back to the palace. The weather had cooled down and clouds grouped in the skies. Ase retreated to her usual solemn state, unable to start a conversation with the man. She continued to do this until they reached the palace, where the festivities and the music continued to roar.

Her silence relentlessly reigned until, as Loki entered his cell once more, she tugged his sleeves and halted his steps. She looked at him with an indescribable visage, but her words were clear and full of emotions. "Thank you," she whispered.

She released him and Loki was welcomed with the bland appearance of his cell. Ase stepped back whilst holding her breath. Loki had a terrible feeling running down his spine. He could not explain it. He had a feeling that they might not meet again. But knowing her inquisitive nature, Ase would come by once or twice, just to converse with him about littlest things, then leave. He feared more that their next encounter would be under different circumstances.

Just as Ase left, Loki finally realised that he truly did not want to be left alone. At least not from her.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi everyone! Here is another chapter for the new year! The prophetic sight was conjured up after I read the Marvel wikipedia about the Vanir. I don't know why but I am quite fond of visions and prophecies hehehe. Anyways, hope you have enjoyed the story so far. Thank you for reading, following, reviewing, and I'll see you soon!**


	19. 0208: My Father

The night before her departure, Ase could not sleep. Her mind raged on, rewinding the plans for the morrow, the sequence of events she should have expected, and how her mentality should be when she executed her mission. It had been several months since she obtained the necklace, which Rhea dubbed "The Blood Pendant", and had practiced magic with it. Rhea had utilise the following months efficiently, began teaching her complicated spells which should have taken years to master—Ase managed to master them in two months. She blatantly considered herself a prodigy, though genetics mainly accounted for her success rather than hard work. Rhea had not revealed as to why she kept helping Ase this way.

She also involved herself in several small skirmishes against the fractured rebellions across the Nine Realms, earning her a meaningful place amongst Thor and his friends. Thor, she observed, had been visiting Heimdall's observatory. After moments of heart-to-heart and Thor's fruitless love consultation to her, Ase derived that Thor was having lovesickness, for he missed his dear Jane Foster so much. Ase understood that at this point women of Earth would have gone to blind dates online, and Jane Foster was no exception, but who was she to judge? She had neither experienced passionate love nor wished for it. At least that was she thought.

Ase found herself a strange companion in Loki, who did seem to improve mentally under her watch. He, for the first time in her knowing him, actually did not reply to her opinions sarcastically, nor did he dare to challenge the views presented to him. He divulged some private memories with her, one of which concerned his experience after falling off the Rainbow Bridge. He said he had met a man called Thanos, whom at first he did not want to cooperate with. But he tortured him and forced him to work with his scepter. Loki did not remark anymore other than that. However, he became much gentler in his words and attitude, even when retelling his stories, which Ase was very proud of. If only Odin would visit him now.

Speaking of which, he would be her last stop on the day of her departure.

It was raining in Asgard when she woke up, thunders rumbling across the skies. She swiftly prepared herself, wore her Asgardian armour and slipped her disassembled staff to her belt. There was little to bring besides food; she could withstand the cold of Jotunheim and create water from melted ice if necessary. She brought a couple of potions with her—which, she shamefully admit, was not her forte; all of them were made by Rhea. Afterwards, she marched towards the prison, where Loki was waiting. He was neither reading nor sleeping, but had been expecting her last visitation.

"So, this is the day," Ase reported. "Any last words?"

Loki stood up and approached the barrier between him and the woman. He looked at her momentarily before diverting his eyes to the floor. "If you survive your journey then I will tell you something. I have no words to say besides to bid you luck."

"Was that a motivation or a lie?" Ase asked of him.

"A motivation," Loki retorted. "Whatever you find there, is my fault as well. This is the least I can do."

Ase had known that there was at least a speckle of guilt in him after his misdeeds, but she did not expect him to declare his crime in front of her. Knowing this change of heart, Ase smiled to him and said, "Do you have any words to say to your people?"

Loki opened his lips, then closed them again, pondering deeply of his actions. He then spoke softly and hesitantly. "Please tell them who have caused them their suffering, and he wishes for forgiveness."

Ase nodded and touched the barrier between them. Loki extended his hand as well and joined her. He could almost feel her touch, albeit the thin line separating their bodies. He could sense a reassurance from Ase, a wave of warmth which convinced him that she would return.

"I will return," reaffirmed Ase. "And with answers."

Loki nodded pensively. Ase took a glance at Loki, a brief stare, before she embarked on her journey to Rhea's tower. Her mother was waiting for her there, cold beads of perspiration dropping down her cheek. There was no one in the tower and Rhea had ensured that Heimdall would be blinded for a moment just so that their spell would be unnoticeable.

"You are lucky the Convergence is approaching," Rhea said as she closed all the windows of the tower. "Dimensional boundaries between each realm is thinning, easing your journey across them. We don't want a difficult journey for your first time." Rhea returned to her table and drank something, a potion or some sorts. She rubbed her hands and faced Ase.

"Remember the steps," Rhea chanted as Ase positioned herself in front of her. "Never let go of your focus. Every second counts." She took a deep breath and waited for Ase. Ase did not immediately begin. She had one last question to ask of her.

"Why are you so willing to help me?"

Rhea lifted her chin and studied her curiously, as if she had made a foolish joke or something. She pursed her lips, fiddled with her fingers, and then spoke, with utmost clarity.

"It is wrong of me to deny you from your father, and it is wrong to prevent a father from seeing his daughter," Rhea said. "I do not know what waits you there, but I have grown to believe that he is still alive."

Ase remained silent. "Let us do this."

Rhea drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. They both opened their hands and began drawing energy, from the mighty Bifrost. Ase's body shook as the energy began streaming into her, and so did Rhea. The Blood Pendant glowed scarlet, pulsing like one's own heart.

"Allfathers… Let the dark magic flow… through her," Rhea chanted. The light of Bifrost began to fall on her, slowly and surely. The transportation was not a fast process, especially not with the likes of Ase and Rhea, not born in Allfather's bloodline. But Ase began to feel her body tingling, turning as light as a feather.

"Birger," Rhea whispered. Ase glanced momentarily to see her mother's expression. For the first time, Rhea brushed away the mask she had always worn, and revealed to her a more sensitive and fragile part of herself. Ase could see the glints of tears on the corners of her eyes.

"Birger is his name," Rhea continued, her voice discordant under the intense light of Bifrost.

Ase nodded gratefully and suddenly she was lifted to the air. Ase once more returned to the vast expanse of space, travelling beyond light speed, wandering along in the emptiness. She gritted her teeth as the force of her path increased, until the burden was lifted off her shoulders and she landed on solid ground. Brutal wind struck her figure, almost blowing her off her feet. Ase crouched down and narrowed her eyes as snowflakes rushed into her eyes. She grimaced and closed her eyes momentarily, trying to grasp her new environment. She could feel a slight tinge of cold, but not cold enough to shiver her. The ground was rough, her ears filled with screams of the wind.

There was no living being around.

Once she rubbed her eyes off the ice, she finally opened them and studied her surroundings. Ase widened her eyes in horror. The earth was broken, like being struck by hundreds of lightning. There were unnatural mountains and spikes scattered across the horizon, and there were weapons marking the area. Then her attention shifted to the monstrous crater lying not far. It was as if a bomb had landed on it, wrecking destruction upon the flat plane.

"The Bifrost incident," Ase spoke, creating small faint smoke in the air. She looked around, again seeing no signs of life. She had landed on a wrong location. She cursed quietly and began treading towards an indefinite direction, following the traces of weapons left by the devastation.

After walking tens of kilometres, Ase was beginning to give up on hope. All day she had spent bracing the neverending snowstorm and gale, but she found nothing even alive. She had not expected how vast Jotunheim was and how difficult it was to find settlement. It only gave her a clearer picture of what happened, to render one of the most dangerous civilisations in the Nine Realms to this sad state. She could only imagine the guilt in Loki's heart.

Then she heard a sound, just faint footsteps which alarmed her senses. She reached for her staff, readying herself to respond to any predatory attack. Instead, she landed her eyes on a gigantic figure, almost twice her size, with bloody eyes and blue skin. He seemed ready with his own weapon, until he saw her own red eyes.

He stopped on his tracks, and she too halted her movements. Any offending air had disappeared, and only the giant's mouth moved.

"What are you?"

oOo

Rhea paced steadily towards Heimdall's observatory, her hands wrapped together to conceal her anxiety. Several hours ago, Ase had transported herself out of this realm, and with it Rhea had cancelled her ultimate spell on Heimdall. It had blinded him momentarily, or rather, this time she numbed his senses so that he would not notice the Bifrost being used somewhere else, and a slight tweak blurred him from seeing Jotunheim. She was en route to the Watcher's domain not because of this, but because she needed to her job as the Head Sorceress—to watch over the Convergence. Behind her two of her most trusted sorcerers tailed her, additional manpower to make this job easier.

Well, of course she could still make sure her spell on him had worn off.

Rhea was pleasantly surprised to see Thor himself in there. "My Prince," Rhea bowed as she entered. "It is a strange phenomenon to see you here. Interested in the Convergence as well, I see?"

Thor shook his head and grinned. "In a way, yes," he explained. Rhea smirked, for she knew the true reason he was there. "And what is the head of court sorcerers doing here?"

"I am here to make calculations," Rhea admitted. "The King has ordered us to predict the exact timing of the Convergence, so we can make precautions."

Thor tilted his head. "You can see the Convergence?"

"Beauty is not what meets the eye," Rhea simply said without further explaining. The sorcerers had begun constructing a sophisticated tool, which Thor would choose not to study, so he turned to Heimdall.

"Few can sense it, fewer can see it," Heimdall explained. "Which is why we have invented tools to 'see' it, in a sense. However, most sorcerers can actually feel it, for the energies are their friends and the dimensions are their comrades." Rhea and her band had set up an intricate device, though seemed to Thor just like a normal Midgardian computer screen, which was circular in shape. Rhea shifted its position so it was at the centre of the observatory, and immediately it pulsed and produced nine spheres almost lining in a single file.

Thor decided not to disturb the sorcerers with their work, so he simply went straight to his main question. "How is she?" asked Thor.

"She's quite clever, your mortal," Heimdall remarked, stepping forward towards the window which displayed the magnificence of the universe. "She doesn't know it yet, but she also studies the convergen—"

Heimdall stopped and alarmingly skipped closer to the window. He squinted his eyes and opened his mouth. Somehow, Rhea noticed this with her back turned, and she stood up.

"I can't see her," Heimdall said. Rhea paced towards him and joined his observation, though just now it was clarified she could not see like Heimdall did.

"There is a surge of energy in Midgard," Rhea reported. "And it is certainly not humane."

Thor widened his eyes and turned to Heimdall. Heimdall hesitated for a moment, for he was not allowed to open the Bifrost without Odin's permission, after the incident which had happened with Jotunheim. But Thor hardened his gaze and Heimdall relented. He marched towards his sword and Thor to the centre of the observatory. The sorcerers moved their equipment out of the way whilst shifting to Rhea for answers.

"Be quick with you. We don't want Odin to notice," Heimdall said before Thor blinked away with the stream of light.

"Heimdall, watch over his every move carefully," Rhea instructed as she returned to their equipment.

"We'll need to postpone our jobs, folks," Rhea muttered as she changed the device's configuration. The hologram now displayed individual realms. She flicked her fingers and focused on Earth. She scanned the planet for any unearthly energies. There were two identified objects, one of them to be the Mind Stone, the Tesseract. The other she did not know, which was a problem.

"If another arrives on Earth, I should have noticed," Heimdall added. Rhea furrowed her brows and returned the device to its original configuration. The sorcerers were still as confused as bulls in a China shop.

"Go on, off with your work. I want to see it finished by the time I return here," Rhea ordered her men, to which they hastily obeyed. Rhea fiddled with her fingers again. Without excusing herself, she paced back to the palace, her mind driven mad by the ominous new threat presented to them. It was impossible for another stone to exist without their knowledge, and why Earth of all places?

She must tell Odin of this, even if it would risk another scolding of Thor from him.

oOo

Endre was her escort's name. After their awkward first encounter, in which Ase hesitantly explained her origins and her purpose coming there, he agreed to guide her to his settlement. He was a scout of the last remnants of Jotunheim, tasked to kill anyone who dared to threaten his people's safety—though he was too friendly and talkative to do that. He told her that he was Laufey's former sniper. Fortunately, he did not join Laufey in his last quest, and survived when the blast of Bifrost destroyed Jotunheim's capital city.

"After the incident, our settlements are left scattered," Endre explained. "Our settlements used to concentrate themselves close to the capital, but the blast had rendered the area inhabitable. We could no longer hunt beasts for food nor repair any of our houses. So we travelled in groups, each appointing leaders. Some of us we have received news of, some haven't" Endre was not the typical Jotun in children's stories. He was far too gentle to classify as a Frost Giant, yet alone a sniper. Or perhaps the tragedy had reshaped their personalities? Had the hardships of life reformed them as new, morale race?

Endre twitched and looked to the distance. There tumultuous sounds roaring towards them. "A storm," he told her. "We need to take cover."

"How long does it take to recede?" asked Ase. She knew she had all the time in the world, but she just wanted to reach their destination sooner.

"Night has come. Perhaps not until the morrow," Endre answered, his voice now distorted because of the noise.

"Do you know the way if you cannot see it?" Ase asked. Endre took a moment to process her inquiry before he nodded.

"As long as we head north and reach that mountain," Endre said, pointing towards a jagged edge not far. "There is a passage there which leads us to my house. But the wind will have blown us by then!"

Ase narrowed her eyes and extended her hand upwards. She glowered and braced herself for the wind approaching them fast. Endre was ready to pull her to a nearby sheltered rock, when he noticed the snowflakes flying past them, never even touching their skins. He tentatively reached for a snowflake, but found his finger blocked by an invisible barrier. He realised what she had done.

"You are a sorcerer, aren't you?" Endre asked. Ase tilted her head and Endre returned to his role as a guide.

Their journey was slower albeit the barrier Ase had created, for she needed to withstand the brunt force from the storm with her magic. Arduous it may seem, they finally stepped foot into the passage Endre had mentioned earlier, which was actually a tunnel piercing through the mountain. Ase relaxed her arms and took in deep breaths, whilst Andre still marvelled at the sorcerer he was seeing.

"Are you sure you are here not because you want to kill us or anything?" Andre asked sheepishly. Ase chuckled and shook her head. Endre replied with a smile and lit up a glowstick or that sort. They began exploring the passageway, hearing nothing but their footsteps and breaths. They did not talk much, and even if they did, Ase did not talk further about her father. A sense of anticipation and fear loomed over hear, interspersed with something else. It was an indescribable apprehension which nagged at her bones, and a constant wave of terror which threatened to breach her mind. What was happening at the other side of the universe?

"We're here," Endre told her as he nudged her shoulder. "Ah, the storm has died off. What a luck!"

Ase blinked her eyes as light greeted her once more—not the light of the day, but the light of the stars. And she saw it, the settlement Endre was talking about. It was built within the concaves of the mountain, houses carved freshly out of the icy cliffs. Glowsticks—or now that Ase noticed, glowing crystals—illuminated the walls and the paths, providing Ase of a better view of the people lingering in the darkness as they arrived. They were typical Frost Giants, at least a quarter times taller than her, the women have longer hair than the men. But something about them did not meet her expectations. They seemed not hostile when they saw her, almost passive really, and some of them looked at her as if they welcomed her.

"Endre," greeted a female Jotun. "Who is this? An enemy?" Her voice was authoritative, which suggested that she was a leader or anything along the line. Endre shook his head.

"She's a visitor," Endre explained to his people. "A half-Asgardian, half-Jotun. She is an Aesir, but also a Jotun." Murmurs emerged across the groups of people and Ase instantly felt demurred by this treatment. The woman studied her more thoroughly and caught her red eyes. She gasped and stepped closer.

"She is indeed a Jotun. A half-breed," she remarked softly. "Who is your father?"

"That is whom I am searching here," Ase replied and landed her gaze to all the people. "I am searching for Birger, a healer. He once served during the war between Jotuns and Asgardian, almost a millennia ago. Do you know where I can find him?"

All of them looked at one another. The woman before her raised her brows and looked at Endre, who was equally astonished by her words. Ase waited before the shock died down, not knowing whether she should be apprehensive or grateful of their reactions.

"Come with me," the woman told her. Ase obediently tailed her, her steps seemingly broken. The settlement, or which she should call village, was quite established and defended. There were guards stationed at the entrances, watchtowers, and even a forgery. She wondered who had led them to this development.

They arrived at the largest building in the village, which appeared to be its town hall. It was entirely carved out of a single cliff, towering at least twenty times her height. Ase entered cautiously for there was a foreboding air crawling down the doors. There was no sign of a soul inside, only barren tables laden with books and parchment. Then she noticed it: healing equipment, scattered across any available surface. Her heart burst into anticipation.

"Birger," the woman called out, her voice echoing throughout the hall. Ase heard gigantic footsteps, but something was wrong with it. The person had an injury on the leg. Ase pursed her lips and wanted to close her eyes, but she could not. Slowly the steps grew louder, her heart pulsed faster.

From a door, a figure appeared. Not as large as Endre, but certainly taller than her. First thing she saw was his legs— _leg,_ to be correct. The left one was missing, replaced by a metallic leg hastily crafted. His arm too, was lost, the right one. Ase trembled in pity as she scanned his figure, scarred here and there. Then she came to his face, and all the doubts in her were washed away.

His expression reflected hers, and no words could be exchanged between them. "Birger," the woman said, breaking the silence. "This is, I believe, your daughter."

Ase took a deep breath and extended her hand awkwardly. "I am…. Ase. My mother is Rhea, of Asgard." She paused, pursed her lips, and continued. "Do you know her?"

His expression was blank for a long moment that Ase feared she had stupidly asked the wrong man. But his face, ruined by hundreds of battles he had been in, suddenly glowed softly. He quirked a smile, and took her hand, covering it with his large palms. He was emanating a warmth his people should not have possessed.

"You look just like your mother," Birger whispered.

oOo

"Did you call my name?"

The sorcerer raised both brows at her. "No, Lady Rhea. You must have imagined things."

"Hmm," Rhea mumbled. Her feet tapped furiously against the floor. It had been two hours since Thor disappeared to Earth. Heimdall reported that he had been flying here and there, searching for Jane Foster. Talking about true love's passion.

Rhea had also consulted with Odin about this mysterious trace of energy, which she suspected to be another Infinity Stone. Odin ordered her to investigate immediately, but Rhea wanted to wait for Thor to return just so that she could interrogate him about this mysterious energy. She doubted he would be able to do so, but she just wanted to wait for the moment.

Her team of sorcerers have finally finished their task. The Convergence was to be in roughly two days, and for safety precautions the court sorcerers would have to set up scouting devices to watch over the thinning barriers. This was required as in the past, a band of rebels had once breached Asgard during the Convergence, resulting in a devastating damage. She promised herself this would not happen under her watch.

"Alright, off you go. I will join you later," Rhea ordered the two sorcerers. They nodded and began packing their equipment.

"Ah, he has found her," Heimdall reported, a hint of relief in his voice. "And now he is arguing with humans. He is threatening them an—"

"What? What happened?" Rhea asked.

"A wave of energy just emerged from Jane Foster," Heimdall continued, narrowing his eyes. Rhea gaped and approached the centre of the observatory. Not a moment later, Heimdall activated the Bifrost Bridge and a stream of rainbow light washed upon the platform. With, Rhea sensed a terrible energy. She instinctively put out a hand to defend herself.

Out of the Bifrost came first a woman, excessively beautiful for Midgardian standards. Her face was bubbling with excitement and she whirled around. "We need to do that again!" she said loudly just as Thor staggered behind her. Rhea tilted her head and lowered her hand, but not her guard.

Jane Foster scanned her two hosts in bewilderment. "Hi," she greeted cutely. Heimdall walked off his station and approached the pair.

"Welcome to Asgard," he greeted. Jane Foster grinned and laughed. Heimdall smile and glanced at Thor.

Rhea did not join them and instead gingerly reached for her hand. Before the energy inside her could deal the same damage as to the police back on Earth, Rhea had pulled back her hand. She knew what was inside.

"Can you help her?" Thor asked.

For the first time in her life as a master sorceress, Rhea could not give a definite reply.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello guys! If you know what happens in the movie (which I am sure you do, since you are reading this fiction), this chapter is the prelude of a bigger and more tragic event. It is also a prologue of Ase's climatic journey in this arc. I am again taking advantage of my writing liberty and assumed that Jotuns changed drastically after Loki's catastrophic treachery, though some of the information are referenced from the mcu wiki as well.**

 **I hope you've enjoyed the chapter so far. Thank you for reading, reviewing, favouriting, and even following this fic!**


	20. 0209: Fate Unites Us

Jane Foster was certainly an intriguing child, Rhea thought. The woman cared not of a dangerous existence flowing through her body, and instead marvelled upon the ethereal hologram hovering above her. Rhea smiled as continued to move her fingers across the machine, analyzing the contents of her body. She had suspected it to be something of an infinity stone, and would be sure of it, if it weren't for her lack of expertise in the area. She was too young to understand the enigmatic singularities, and only Odin had the hopes of solving this.

"This is not of Earth," Thor declared without solid evidence. Rhea twitched a brow and continued to work. "What is it?"

"We do not know," answered on of her apprentices. "But she will not survive the amount of energy surging within her."

"What I can tell you, Your Highness," muttered Rhea in between her arms' agile movements, "is that this object is equal in power as the Mind Stone and the Tesseract. I am sure they ring a bell." A frown formed upon Thor's face and he closed his distance between Jane.

"What did she mean?" asked Jane curiously.

Rhea stopped momentarily to look at the inquisitive woman. "It means that whatever inside you is strong enough to be weaponized as a nuclear bomb, if that is how you compare it." When she received Jane's horrified expression in return, Rhea went back to her task at hand with a satisfied smile. It was wrong to smile at the woman's misfortune, but she was glad enough to enlighten her with the clearest explanation possible.

"That's… a quantum field generator, isn't it?" Jane further asked.

"It's a soul forge," Rhea corrected. Jane squirmed and lifted her head slightly.

"Does a soul forge transfer molecular energy from one place to another?" inquired Jane. Rhea stopped on her track and stared at her in wonder. If there was someone equally intelligent as this woman, it would be Ase herself. It was always pleasant to meet women of equal minds.

Thus, Rhea smiled again, this time kindly, and said, "Yes." Jane grinned and mouthed to Thor something Rhea did not catch, but presented to her a lovely scene between two lovers. Which brought her to the thought of Ase. Long had she departed and she should have found her father right now. If not, then her quest was in vain, but Rhea had prayed too much for that not to happen.

"My words are mere noises to you that you ignore them completely?" Odin's voice suddenly boomed in the chamber. Rhea glanced over her shoulder to see her king marching in furiously.

"She is ill," retorted Thor, confronting his father.

"She is mortal," Odin replied back. "Illness is their defining trait."

 _Now, that is too harsh, old man,_ mused Rhea, but she said nothing. She had just finished analyzing Jane and switched the machine off. Facing Odin, she bowed, and indicated the completion of her task.

"I brought her here because we can help her," Thor argued. Rhea begged to differ, for they had not discovered magic as advanced to extract the object within Jane. This is obvious because they had not been in touch with an Infinity Stone for millennia.

"She does not belong here in Asgard anymore than a goat belongs at a banquet table," Odin further added. Rhea's conscience was incredibly disturbed by the way Odin had perceived Jane. She thought he had changed his perspective to non-Asgardians, but she was truly wrong. Perhaps if Ase had not saved Midgard, he would have deemed her a threat as well.

"Did he just?" Jane protested as she rose from the bed. "Who do you—"

"Young lady, I suggest you stop there," Rhea interrupted, "for he is Odin, King of Asgard, Protector of the Nine Realms. As things are now, he is your host. I believe propriety exists as well in Midgard, hmm?"

Jane's words stopped at the tip of her tongue and her face reddened in shame. "Oh, well. I'm…"

"I know very well who you are, Jane Foster," Odin replied. Jane turned to Thor.

"You told your Dad about me?" accused the woman. Thor sighed and returned to his father.

"Something is within her, father, something I have not seen before," Thor insisted. Odin was still true to his argument and called upon the guards.

"Her world has its healers, their called doctors, let them deal with it. Guards take her back to Midgard," Odin declared. However, before the guards could reach her, Rhea had stood in front of Jane, her hand lifted protectively, more to the guards than to the woman.

"This is not a disease which can be cured by mere doctors," Rhea explained firmly, glaring at her king nevertheless her lowly position. "Nor something that I can cure. This is a weapon, which will protect itself from hostile forces including you and your guards." Rhea paused and reconsidered her words. "This is an Infinity Stone."

At this Odin was frozen to his feet. He rushed to Jane and hover his palm above her arm. Her veins glowed eerily red, and Odin pulled back his arm in horror. "This is the Aether," Odin murmured. Rhea widened her eyes, disbelieving what he had said. A sense of foreboding struck her nerves, of the presumably extinct Dark Elves and their leader, Malekith. But they had been slain, all of them. It was unspeakable for them to rise from the dead.

But Odin's gaze said another. He stepped closer to Rhea and whispered to her in grim voice. "Tis the Convergence. I have a bad feeling about this. Tell the guards and your sorcerers to tighten defences."

"Understood," Rhea said, sensing the fear coursing through Odin's veins as well. She might not be a prophet or something, but she could feel a terribly event coming.

And again, Ase was not there.

oOo

It had been exactly a day since Ase's departure, and Loki was now consumed in boredom, and a conflict of emotions. Frigga had just visited him, or at least her illusion, to have a talk. It did not exactly end well, although he had tried to hold his tongue as much as possible. It just angered him, all the nonsense talk to convert him to holiness. He had been this way and there was no changing it.

He had stopped reading Ase's e-book entirely—part of the reason because he did not had an opponent to argue about ideas and philosophy. Another part was because he had another thing to think of. Before she left, Loki had promised Ase that he would divulge to her a secret which he had kept for some time. The message was clear, but he could not think of how to convey it. It made him restless, stole him his sleep, but thinking of it sparked in him an indescribable joy and hopelessness. He feared what she would say, how she would react, but to him she was the only one who deserved to know the deepest of his heart.

So now he was playing with a trinket whilst thinking of this, lying on his bed with empty thoughts. When would Ase return, he wondered?

Suddenly he sensed something. He shifted his attention from the trinket to his cell's barrier. The light flickered ominously and he stood up. He heard noises, unnerving screeches, and then screams. He approached the barrier and glanced left. There were more screams, then a loud bang from a cell not far. He walked towards the edge of his cell, trying to grasp the situation, but his eye could only catch so little.

He saw several of the prisoners broken out of their cages by a giant warrior. The warrior's figure was menacing, and his eyes better still. They were sparking red like flames. How had he broken out of the cell? Not even Ase could do such feat—or perhaps, she did not dare to. It was designed by Rhea herself, to be unbreakable even by spells. It would be impossible, unless he bore a power older than the ancient magic.

As the prisoners ran for their freedom and rebellion, the warrior finally arrived before Loki's cell. Loki smiled, urging him to free him as well. But the warrior ignored him and walked away. Loki's mischievous side urged him to say a word, but he stood back. He waited, for it was not his place to go out. His crimes were too grief and he was too dangerous. He took a seat and waited as the chaos began to unfold.

He prayed desperately for her return.

oOo

The moon reigned over the skies, and all of Jotunheim had fallen to sleep, except two people sitting beside one another in an isolated town hall. But Birger did not start the conversation on the spot. Instead, he had cleaned up the mess he had created with his equipment first, and then prepared Ase some food which he hoped was edible for her. He ended up giving her a cup of water—which was rare, considering they were literally in _Antarctica._

"Come, sit," Birger said, almost in an old-man manner. Ase obeyed and took a sit on one of the carved stones, holding her cup without intending on drinking it. She waited until Birger took a seat, which was a difficult thing to do with that leg. She wondered what happened to him to result in this.

"This, was not because of the Bifrost incident," explained Birger, as if guessing her mind. "Many years ago I went up a mountain and a snow storm struck. I fell. I was lucky to have only this injury. The hand, however, was because I angered Laufey. He cut my arm and I could not get it back." Ase could visualize Loki's father decapitating her father's arm. It was fortunate for the Jotuns to be free from his savagery.

"I am sorry," Ase whispered. Birger sighed and drank from his own cup.

"There is no need to be sorry. It happens, misfortune," he retorted. "I believe fate has a way of changing us, you know? The Bifrost incident occurred because we were too hateful on others. It broke us apart, but we were mended and we learnt from our mistakes."

"Are you saying that your people no longer wants war with the Asgardians?" asked Ase.

"In a way, yes. At least for my village," Birger said. "After that incident, I was one of the elected leaders of the remaining people. I have travelled to this mountain for many times and guided them here. We carved out new homes, built a safe place, and ignored all effort to ignite a revenge plot against Asgard. Our survival was utmost priority, not them."

Birger was certainly unlike any Frost Giant. He seemed to acquire this wisdom long before the tragedy. Perhaps he had been like this since he had met her mother. There was a touch of humanity in him that she did not feel in other Frost Giants. His kindness was reflected upon the villagers, the way they lived, and the village as a whole. She could see now why her mother had loved him.

"Now it is your turn," Birger said. "What is your story? I am guessing it is not pleasant, because your face has been so grim since you arrived."

Ase blinked and hesitated for a moment. She rotated her cup several times before she laid it on the floor. "Rhea was pregnant with me when she returned to Asgard. She feared Asgard would kill me because of my heritage and powers, so she sent me to Earth and put me into sleep for exactly a millennia."

Birger did not give a visible response. He certainly was good in putting up faces, just like her mother. Or he was just being objectively like all men does. Screw men if that was true. "Rhea eventually sent a friend to wake me and I grew up under his guidance until I left him at the age of 17. I wondered for decades, waiting for her to answer my prayers, to come for me. But she never came. So instead I came to her, after a war on Earth which allowed me to travel with Thor back to Asgard."

Silence reigned over them for a long painful moment. Ase had told this story so many times that she no longer felt anything. But her heart was still aching, she knew it, this time with more contortions and wounds than when she had told the Avengers of this. She had spent many months with Rhea and she had bonded with her, and with it emerge new complications in her emotions.

Finally, Birger spoke, "Have you not forgiven her, Ase?" he asked slowly. Ase looked up and gritted her teeth. It was almost a foolish and dumb question, one dedicated to arouse her anger.

"No, I haven't," Ase said shakily. Her chest felt heavy, as if being laden by a mountain. "How could I? She left me for exactly a millennia and has never tried to reach out, to change things in Asgard," she continued brokenly.

"How couldn't you?" Birger shot back gently. Ase froze, as if being shot by an invisible arrow. She squeezed her palms tightly. Birger leaned forward and grasped them. "She saved your life, Ase. She gave birth to you and almost sacrifice her life in the process. She may have left you there, alone and lost, but she did that without any choice. Asgard is a harsh society deep within. Odin is no kind ruler either. Hell, I believe you should be angry towards me instead."

"I don't know but I can't," Ase relented. "There is a burden anchoring me down. I am conscious that a child should not be disrespectful towards their parents, but I just can't." Birger was stone cold, though she knew he had heard every word she had said.

"Let me tell you a story between you and my mother," Birger whispered gently as he stood up. Ase's eyes followed him. "This place, is where I met your mother, actually."

That quite snapped Ase out of her intricate war of emotions. Birger merely created questions rather than answers for her. He went on, "Of course the village had not existed back then. It was just a small cavern house. I built it during my free times, so I could spend my time alone when I am bored." His face suddenly darkened. "Then came the war, which Laufey declared himself to Odin. Upon his order, I was involved at the battlefront, being a field healer as you call it."

"That's why you have all those scars," Ase deduced. Birger nodded and stooped to pick up a stray book. It was a wonder he had managed to salvage all the books in that town hall. Perhaps the love of knowledge runs in the family.

"I lost my arm because I could not save one of Laufey's commander. He was furious, really, and I was still young," Birger explain, pointing to his non-existent arm. Ase grimaced once more, though Birger did not mind at all telling it to her. "I was decommissioned, and became a mere courier. I traversed the mountains and found the passage you went from. I brought goods to the battlefield and returned with grief news to families waiting. It went on and on and on…"

"Until I found a sorceress, half-dead, lying in one of the caverns I had carved out. At first I was obliged to kill her—orders are orders—but I saw that she desired no harm to him and she wished me to do the same." Ase had only thought about it, but how had Rhea injured herself so badly? She had been the head sorceress or at the very least, a master sorceress, during the war. It was nearly impossible for her do suffer like that.

"I offered to heal her, because nevertheless the circumstances, I am still a healer at heart. Firstly I stopped her bleeding then gave her some food, and rushed to the battle. The routine repeated itself, and I found myself learning more about her from each visit." Birger paused and smiled. "And I fell in love, unexpectedly in love with a woman I had just known. She was kind, yet courageous. She confided in me more of her tragic story."

"What tragic story?" Ase interrupted, her heart pacing. Birger pondered for a moment.

"She was not born in a very… _kind_ circumstance," Birger slowly conveyed to her. "She wasn't wanted by her family, her parents. Abuse was a gentle word for what her parents had done to her. She suffered from it—the evidence I could see on her charred skin hidden beneath her tunic—until her talent for magic emerged and her family was forced to fear her." Ase rewound her mind to her times with Rhea. Never had she noticed the bruises Birger was describing to her, but Ase did not doubt their existence. Her mother always had that look on her eyes—hiding something dark of the past, always melancholic in happy times. Perhaps it was the scar from her childhood. She had never thought about it.

Birger laid the books on his table and sighed. "The society is, often, unforgiving. Weak and small people are victimized by people who believe they have power, until that power is taken from them. They fear what they cannot understand."

Birger approached Ase and knelt in front of her, an estranged father reaching out to her daughter. He grasped Ase's hands once more, but this time with a firmer hold, as if pleading to her. She knew what he was going to say to her, but she wanted to listen to his voice reprimanding her, giving her a lesson she deserved. A voice in her soul had caressed her to let go, but it was not strong enough to break her stone heart. Only his voice, as if her only purpose to come here, could finally break those walls.

"Rhea does not want that to happen to you, child. Her greatest fear remains even as the time passes. And even though her methods may have hurt your heart, throw you into suffering, I believe she did so to save you from a greater pain," Birger whispered. Ase closed her eyes and reflected upon her actions, her words to her mother. Tears threatened her composure, but her cursed heart was still adamant.

"Please forgive her, Ase, my child," Birger finally said, burrowing his face onto her palms, seeking for leniency. Ase trembled. The walls were finally broken down, the dam struck open, and the heart relented.

Ase wept, without a voice, and let her tears flowed freely. She deeply accepted her faults, her arrogance towards her mother. How prideful she had been that despite knowing her sin in hating her mother, she had not dared to forgive her. She believed herself to be the righteous when she was in the deepest depths of wrong.

She was the purest definition of immoral monster she had always feared.

"Go now," Birger told her. "Do not wait until it is too late. Go and embrace her as a daughter. Go and tell her you have forgiven her."

Ase nodded and twitched a smile. There was a small joy in her, though she did not deserve it.

Then suddenly it hit her. A cold wave of uneasiness, creeping up her back and reaching her neck. She jumped from her seat and looked into the darkness. "Ase?" asked her father. Ase did not reply, for a terribly premonition loomed over her, dragged down her entirety to the abyss. She had never felt like this before.

And so, when her heart finally came to a stop, she ran.

oOo

"There has been a breach in the dungeons!" reported one of the sorcerers.

"Send some of the sorcerers to the dungeons," Rhea instructed. "Kari, Gala, stay in the tower and watch over _anything_ which enters and leaves this realm. Alert the palace if there is a breach. The rest of you, station yourselves around the exits and entrances. I don't want any of the prisoners in or out of here.

Her small troop of sorcerers immediately obeyed and went on their separate ways. Rhea marched hastily to the palace basement, where the defensive core of the palace was located. If the prisoners were to instill an attack on the palace, they would need to destroy the defences first.

She ran down her steps, her skirt slightly obstructing her movements, but she ignored them. The voices of prisoners and dying guards echoed across the hallway. She quickened her steps.

A prisoner encountered her along the way, bearing a spear which she assumed had been stolen from the dead guards. He charged towards her, screaming. Rhea skidded to a halt and thrusted her hand. An unseen force threw the prisoner across the hallway, like a light ball being thrown away. Rhea flicked her arm. The prisoner was cast to the air, hitting the ceiling with a crack. Rhea pulled her hand and returned to her jog, hearing the loud crack of the fallen prisoner. She encountered scattered dead bodies, most of them Asgardian guards and some of them prisoners. Her acute hearings caught whizzing roars above, which she immediately identified as airships flying past. She could not differentiate between their ship and enemy ship, but she just hoped Heimdall had activated the palace barrier.

Her mind drifted to Ase, somewhere in the land of Frost Giants. They needed her help right now. Her strength would definitely oppose their enemies easily, especially with her frost. But alas, hope was hope, and it would perhaps not be answered soon.

Rhea stopped when she encountered four other prisoners, equally armed. Had all of them broken out of prison? Was Loki on the loose as well?

Rhea shifted into a defensive position when she saw she was too late to attack. The first prisoner charged at her, thrusting its spear towards her shoulder. She stepped sideways. The spearblade flew past her shoulder. She spun and punched the man hard, casting him to a nearby pillar. She snatched his spear and blocked the attack of another prisoner. He was gigantic, towering twice her height, matching her strength. Rhea gritted her teeth and swiftly cast aside a hand. With a flick of the wrist a flaming blaze emerged from the floor, scorching her enemy into ashen corpse.

Her enemies began to falter in fear. Rhea spun her spear and threw it to her next opponent. He sliced the weapon away from his path. Rhea pulled out her knives and threw them in the air. With an artful movement of her hands she fired them at her current enemy. He was quite the defender. He evaded all of her attacks masterfully. But Rhea did not stop there. As he finally landed his feet, Rhea extended her hand and forcefully pulled him towards her. He screamed as his body flew towards her. Rhea pulled out a knife and pierced his head as he arrived before her.

"One more to go," she prayed as she cast her opponent aside. She walked towards her last enemy, shrunken in fear. She had not fought for hundreds of years, but she must admit that all the battle had awakened her senses. The enemy trembled under her gaze. She assured him she would end his life swiftly.

To her own surprise, she ended him with a cold touch, and transformed him into a living ice sculpture.

Rhea breathed heavily, realizing she had gotten old and rusty, and continued forward.

The defensive core still remained untouched, quietly working amidst the chaos. "So Heimdall has put up the barrier," she muttered, relieved.

There were heavy footsteps, echoing towards her. Rhea turned around and readied herself for this new danger. The sense of foreboding again rooted her to the ground. There were voice warning her that she could not understand. Rhea shivered.

A gigantic warrior, eyes pulsing red with hatred, greeted her. Energy brimmed his existence, as if he was an embodiment of magic himself. Rhea swallowed and took out her small dagger.

She ignored the voices. The voices which told her that this would be her last battle.

 **A/N: Hi. I am sorry (for the billionth time) that I haven't been publishing regularly. I have been down these days and could hardly cope with my commitments to even spare time reading, not to say writing. For those of you who have been reading, I deeply thank you. I sound kind of depressed yeah but its just life running faster than I can keep up. Please bear with me and enjoy this chapter instead :)**


	21. 0210: The Darkest Hour

"Ase, what is wrong?" Birger demanded. Ase was deaf to all of his words. The darkness continued to claw on her bones, warning her of an impending danger which she could not understand. She rushed out of the town hall, greeted by the night fading into dawn. The villagers were still sound and peaceful, and any sign of disturbance she knew was not from Jotunheim. She glanced at the stars, gauging where Asgard was amongst the constellations.

Birger limped behind her, still confused by her sudden change of mood. But he slowly sensed the apprehension dreading her, and the urgency marked on her steps. Birger managed to catch up on her and stopped her pace by snatching her arm.

"You bloody better tell me what is happening, my child," Birger pleaded. Ase's blood chilled and her nerves riveting.

"I don't know, father," Ase answered. "I have a feeling, a very terrible feeling, that something has happened in Asgard. I must return now."

Birger furrowed his brows and joined her in her anxiety. If a calamity had happened in Asgard, Rhea might as well be involved in it. She was too important a person to evade the problems before her. He felt his daughter trembling. "Calm yourself, child. Do what you must, but you cannot do it with unsettled nerves."

"I know," Ase breathed. "It's just that… besides that, the journey back home is very dangerous. I may not survive." As if understanding her predicament, Birger squeezed her arm comfortingly. She could not believe after such a brief encounter with her own father she would be leaving him. She felt joy and grief at the same time for meeting her father. Worse still, the inconstant fortune revolving around her would mean she had no absolute possibility that she would return here again.

"Ase, I believe you are too strong to just die like that," her father told her firmly. "Go and return to your mother. Tell her everything you need. Do not wait until it is too late."

Ase gritted her teeth and nodded hesitantly. Birger pulled her into a short embrace, filled with fatherly love, and she smiled. A surge of hope brimmed her existence, and now she had much believe in herself. Birger released her and stepped back, as if he knew what she would do.

Ase took a deep, heavy breath, and grasped her necklace. Upon the touch she was reminded of Loki, who was perhaps being caught in whatever chaos occurring in Asgard. She could only pray that his device truly worked.

Gently she closed her eyes, searching for the Bifrost energy somewhere in the universe. It was like a river, its water ready to be taken. But as she reached for it, it streamed fiercely and violently to her body. She grimaced as her chest burnt from the outstanding burden, but she continued. Slowly she adjusted to the current, the necklace evidently aiding her like a benevolent supporter, and she heaved.

"Allfathers, let the dark magic flow through me!" she chanted loudly. Her body left the solid earth and travelled through the stars, the fire in her chest continuing to engulf her, and now her stomach was being pierced by thousands of blades. The journey seemed momentary in these various manifestations of pain, in addition with her disturbed mind of the premonition she had received.

When her feet finally touched the ground, her body had lost its vigour and she sacked to the ground. Violently she coughed, spouting out scarlet blood on the floor which she blurrily recognized belong to Heimdall's observatory.

"Ase?" Heimdall called to her in alarm. Ase could not reply and she finished her gory coughing fits. Her head was pounding, its pain threatening to split her mind into two, but she forced herself to rise and affirmed her footing. She shook her head and finally regained her absolute vision.

"Heimdall. What has happened?" Ase questioned hastily.

"Asgard has been sieged," Heimdall explained, though he focused on his task to erect the palace barriers. Ase widened her eyes and peered to the city, where she saw a smoke thickening form the buildings. Her heart jumpstarted her consciousness properly.

"Ase, are you alright? You need to—"

"No," Ase coughed, wiping the blood off her chin and pushing herself forward. She had no time to tend to herself, however broken her body was. She must reach her mother. Before it was too late.

oOo

Rhea observed her opponent intently, carefully calculating her moves. She did not know his abilities yet, but judging from the cracks of hell running across his skin, she deduced fire would not be most effective. She took another step, and decided ice magic would do best. It was certainly not her expertise—she had avoided it to prevent suspicions from fellow Asgardians—but she must cope with this weakness.

Her enemy was obviously targeting the defensive core. Rhea hardened her gaze and prepared herself. "You will not pass," she declared.

Her enemy roared like thunder and charged. He was fast. Rhea shifted sideways, his blade narrowly escaping her face. She grabbed his arm and screamed when his skin charred hers. Instinctively, she pulled back and pushed him powerfully with her force. Her attack merely moved him several feet away. Rhea swung her arms and further threw him far from her. He tried to march forward, but Rhea held him on the ground with every ounce of her strength.

Realising that she could no longer hold him, she hastily chanted a spell, her daughter flashing across her mind. His feet slowly froze to, the ice creeping up his legs and up to his torso. He tried to wriggle free, but the ice was proven too adamant for him. Impressed by the effectiveness of the spell, she pulled her hands back and entwined her fingers together. Using the fractional time the ice bought, she closed her eyes and concentrated her magic. She tapped the energies of Jotunheim. Heat was robbed from the surrounding air, and an uninvited wind came.

Rapidly, ice began to encase her opponent's whole figure. He groaned furiously and began exerting himself to break the cage. But Rhea did not stop there. When she saw, or felt, that her opponent was trapped in the thin ice, she flicked her arm and blasted a frost of magic towards him. The blast created an enormous ice monument of her enemy, towering her like a mountain. Rhea panted and smiled.

"I am too old for this," she sighed, leaning down to regain her breaths. Perhaps the terribly feeling she had had before was only her imagination.

Then she heard a distinct crack.

Rhea glanced up. It was too late to react.

The ice sculpture glowed flaming red before it exploded into tiny pieces, its force sending Rhea across the room. She groaned as her back crashed to the granite floor. The enemy stepped towards her. From his steps she knew she had not harmed him.

He shouted a battle cry and lifted his weapon. Rhea rolled to the right and saw, to her horror, his blade cracking the floor. She rolled back to evade another attack. Rhea gasped when she saw the blade rising to her jaw. She lifted her tiny dagger to block it, only to receive a painful crack from her chin hitting with the blunt edge of the blade. Desperately, she lifted her hand to push him, her vision now blurred by the fierce impact. But he took it and threw her with a livid strength. Rhea screamed when she felt her body flying in the air.

Flaming pain burnt her back as she smashed the ground. For a fraction of second, her mind went blank, and her conscience hovered above her. It was a moment between life and death. She _was_ in life and the death. But she knew it was not her time, not her shame to wait for her enemy to end her life.

"Bloody monster!" Rhea cursed as she pushed herself up and blocked his sword with her bare hand. Fresh blood flowed to the ground, but it did not deter Rhea. She exerted force upon his weapon, with every drop of her vigour. The sword cracked open and smattered into pieces. Her enemy staggered back in recoil and Rhea jumped up. She took a guard's spear and began paying back her opponent. Ruthlessly she amplified her attacks with brunt force, pounding the warrior repeatedly until he fell to his knees.

Rhea yelled and plunged the spear's blade deep into his chest. Her enemy coughed and wheezed. Rhea did not relent and pushed the weapon further. "Die, evil," she declared.

Suddenly her enemy grabbed her neck and squeezed it. Rhea gasped and instinctively reached for his hand. His grip was scorching her skin, sucking out her living soul as its touch lingered. Rhea grasped his arm in her last seconds and immediately froze his arm. She was losing all her energy very rapidly. He was absorbing it, gaining more strength every second.

 _Please,_ she pleaded. _Please!_

Her plead was answered by a sharp stab to the stomach. Then another. And the third stole all her vigour from her. She loosened her grip on her enemy and momentarily glanced downward. He pulled out her own dagger from her stomach, blood oozing from the wounds and splattering the floor. Rhea's face sank.

She felt his grip released from her and she sacked to the ground. Futilely, she began healing her wounds with her dying energy. She looked up to see her enemy destroying the defensive core. The structure exploded and sent a wave of energy towards Rhea. Trembling, she lifted her hand and shielded herself from the blast, but not from the pain.

She heaved brokenly and realised that she was still alive. Still bloody and fortunately alive. _I need to get up,_ Rhea prayed to herself. _If he's this strong then more lives will be lost. More lives—_

Her enemy, who had just fallen from the blast, stood up slowly. He cracked the ice on his hands and moved on. Rhea returned to stillness, evading his observation. She breathed heavily as he left the room, heading towards Frigga's drawing room. Rhea knew who was there and _what_ was at stake.

 _He must not have the Aether._

"Get, up!" she ordered herself. She screamed in agony when the effort worsened her wound. But she ignored them and fiercely limped to tail her enemy. She took the wee dagger which had victimized its owner, and marched towards Frigga's drawing room.

Each step took her a part of her life. She did not care. She was Rhea, the head of the court sorcerers, master of magic. No, it was far more than that. She was Rhea, mother of Ase, a strong woman who she must meet again. She would live until the last drop of her blood, and she would make a difference with the split amount of time left.

oOo

The air reeked of blood and smoke. The bodies of the dead were everywhere. In the halls, the echoes of weapon clashing against one another played continuously like music. So was the pounding in her head. Her mind could not think straight, her body driven only by the desperation to find her mother.

"Rhea!" Ase screamed as she pushed her way through the hordes of enemies. Barbaric was an understatement for her current state, for she lashed and threw her enemies like a wild mountain woman. "Rhea! Where is Rhea?" she repeated.

"Lady Ase!" one of the sorcerers called. She glanced and found him. Staggering at an unearthly pace, she arrive before her informant.

"Where is she?" Ase demanded.

"Last time I saw, Lady Rhea was going to the defensive core at the central basement," he rapidly answered. Ase nodded and sprinted to her destination. She grimaced and stumbled, but her pace did not falter. Corpses littered the floor, some prisoners some guards.

 _Please make it in time. Please make it in time!_

Ase took a sharp turn around the corner and smelled burnt metal. She widened her eyes and stopped to see the deformed defensive core blocking her way. There were dead soldiers there too. Horrified, she began searching for her mother, but her body was not there. Had she been swallowed by the explosion?

 _No,_ she answered to herself as she paced once more. She could sense her magical energy still somewhere in the palace. The sturdiness of her breath shook her lungs as she called forth magic to search for Rhea. She found the slow pulse of her energy, dying slowly, heading towards Frigga's drawing room. There were several powerful entities as well.

Whatever she was intending, it was a suicide mission.

"No!" she screamed and forced her legs further, but they did not bid to her will. Tears welled in her eyes. Her body was failing itself. The dark magic was punishing her. _Why now of all times?_

Then she heard a voice, a very familiar voice. It was calling to her. She glanced to her right to see Thor supporting her. "Come on, we can make it!" urged Thor. The hope in his eyes gave Ase a surge of strength, and she continued her steps with him. There was a sliver of hope left. A sliver, but still capable of changing their fates.

But before they could even get close to the room, they heard a scream.

oOo

Frigga eyed this intruder warily. Never had she sensed such hatred emanating from a living being before. The hatred of a Dark Elf, the immortal enemy of Asgard.

"Stand down, creature," she warned. "And you may still survive this."

"I have survived worse, woman," he retorted. Frigga narrowed her eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Malekith," he answered. Frigga shivered upon hearing the accursed name. "And I would have what is mine." He ended his statement with a look towards Jane. Frigga immediately understood his intentions, and she understood well her role. With a glance she slashed at her opponent. He took out his blade and she replied by disarming his weapon from him.

Frigga mercilessly assaulted him. He evaded every one of her attacks. Frigga spun and drew out her dagger, piercing his cheek. He hissed and staggered back. Frigga frowned and proceeded to put her blade at his neck, ready to end his life. She caught a glint on his eyes and turned around.

A monster was waiting to lunge at her. But she saw another figure emerging from the doorway.

"Stop!" Rhea screamed and threw her dagger at the new intruder. He screeched in pain and turned to face Rhea. She charged madly towards him and grabbed his head. Rapidly, she chanted, and frost began to materialize itself upon his face. "Frigga!" Rhea pleaded.

Frigga returned to Malekith, who had taken his sword once more. But Rhea's strength faltered and her frost was not fast enough to knockdown her opponent. He punched her wounded abdomen and snapped her hand away. He took her head and pounded it against the floor, creating a large crater and a scream from Rhea.

Frigga glanced at her friend and lowered her guard as a result. Malekith took his chance and disarmed her. The tables were turned. His henchman seized Frigga and placed his blade upon he neck. She trembled and uselessly tried to break free. Malekith approached Jane, who stepped back in fear. He observed her intently and finally realised the trick up on Frigga's sleeve. He waved his hand to Jane's illusion and instantly boomed with rage.

"Witch!" he shouted. Frigga glanced at the crippled Rhea. "Where is the Aether?" Malekith further demanded.

"I'll never tell you," Frigga replied, her voice shivering. Malekith tilted his head. Horror washed over Frigga.

"I believe you," Malekith replied. A cruel blade pierced through her chest. Frigga grimaced and closed her eyes.

"NO!" two voices screamed. A bolt of thunder scorched Malekith's face and a slither of ice rushed towards his henchman, freezing his feet solid to the ground. Frigga was released from his grasp and fell to the ground as Thor and Ase pursued the intruders. His henchman threw the blade towards Ase, who dodged it just in time by falling to the ground. He easily broke free of the ice and snatched the fallen Malekith. Thor tried to prevent their escape to no avail. They jumped to an invisible airship, which teleported out of the dimension as quickly as it had arrived. His hammer could never reach them.

Behind him, Ase rose to her feet. The worse of her nightmare had become true. She saw Rhea's cold body sprawled on the floor, blood drenching her dress, dyeing it red. "Mother!" she called and sank next to her. Ase slowly flipped her mother's body so she could see her face. She was still conscious, but faltering. Ase instinctively pressed her palms on the largest of wounds—too many, they were just too many—and her hands glowed a dim emerald. The light flickered every second. Ase sobbed as she desperately healed her mother. To no avail.

"A—Ase?" her mother whispered.

"Yes, it is I, mother," Ase answered. "Don't worry, mother. Help is coming soon."

Rhea did not hear her. She lifted her hand and touched Ase's cheek. Ase pressured her body further and blood trickled from her nose. More tears began to prick her eyes.

"I am sorry," Rhea said weakly. "I am… so sorry… for not loving you… properly."

Ase shook her head and furrowed her brows. "No, no, mother. It is I who should have said sorry. I never thank you enough, never accept your sacrifices to me. Whatever you need me to forgive, I have forgiven. As long as you stay with me. _Please._ "

"No," Rhea disagreed. "I- I" Tears welled in Rhea's eyes as well. "I am sorry I will not be able to be there for you again. I am so sorry."

"No, no, no," Ase pleaded. "You are going to live, mother. Please stay with me. We have much to learn." Ase sobbed and leaned down to her mother. Her breath was growing faint every second despite her efforts to heal her. There was nothing could be done, she know. Her fate was inevitable. She was so foolish to spend so long priding herself. Her mother was innocent and she didn't deserve this. _She_ didn't deserve this.

Rhea ran her fingers across Ase's face. Ase looked at her mother's fading gaze. They were very warm, like the colours of lit hearth. Filled with love and memories. They thought of Ase, even now. Ase's heart broke down into pieces.

"You… are the grea—greatest… Magic. In my… life," Rhea chanted and breathed. "I love you, my daughter."

"I love you too," Ase replied. "I love you too mother. Mother…"

Rhea never replied. She stared at the skies, a smile decorating her face. Ase wept deeply and painfully, wailing in agony as she pulled her mother into an embrace. As Thor and Odin grieved on Frigga in sorrowful silence, Ase screamed in despair.

That day Asgard lost many of its souls. Loved souls.

oOo

The stars dimmed under the shadow of grief. The lights held by Asgardians, meant to shine Frigga's path to Valhalla, was not enough to extinguish the forlorn tears of the people. When Frigga had passed on a beautiful boat amongst all the people who had shared the same fate as her, her body drifting away to the skies and transforming into sparkles of dust, another funeral was held. It was of the greatest sorceress to have ever existed, honoured as grandly as their queen.

Her body was placed on a bed full of flowers, carried to the Garden of Solitude where the remaining sorcerers had waited with glowing flowers in hand. It was a private funeral, for only a handful of people knew Rhea and only they could honour her completely.

"A warrior has sacrificed herself," chanted Odin. "The greatest sorceress in history, the embodiment of valour and wisdom. Here lies Rhea, daughter of Magic, guardian of Asgard. May her soul find its place in Valhalla."

Odin placed the flower on the bed, followed by Thor. The other sorcerers followed, one by one, till her last resting place had been embellished with colourful blossoms. Ase stepped in the last, laying her flower on Rhea's chest. She looked as beautiful as she had been in life. She grimaced and a drop of tear fell on her lips.

"May we meet again, mother," she whispered before she kissed her forehead. Then she pulled back and lifted her arm. Without a sound she chanted and a blue flame burst from her hand. She pointed her finger to Rhea's corpse and closed her eyes.

The flame engulfed Rhea almost immediately, its entirety too bright to be observed by the naked eyes. The blaze sparked to the skies in vibrant colours. Her death was too beautiful to be witnessed. Ase looked up and she too saw her mother turning into mesmerizing red dust, joining her brothers and sisters in the sky.

Thor stayed and offered condolences, of which he also shared. But Ase was wordless and left the Garden of Solitude alone. The sky rumbled and rain fell upon the earth, as if grieving as well. She walked under the rain to the dungeons, dragging her lifeless clothing with her. The dungeons were empty. The guards dared not talk to her as she entered, drenched in water. She limped to his cell and saw a guard standing in front of it.

"We are sorry," said the guard before he took his leave hastily. Ase passed him and stopped before his cell. He looked at her, his gaze empty. She touched the barrier between her and him and gazed down. He stepped closer and put his fingers against hers. They spent a long moment of silence together, trying to accept the fate which had been thrusted to their mothers. But Ase eventually gave in and sank to the floor. She grabbed her knees and curled herself.

Then she wept once more, this time more quietly, swallowing the pain burdening her heart. Loki stared at her. He slowly sat down and covered his face with his palms. He too, cried, and it was painful.

In the impending storm, they continued on. They could feel the pain in each other's heart. They understood, just like before. They tried to comfort each other.

Yet it was impossible.

oOo

He heard a voice.

Birger rose from his bed and looked around. There was no one in the hall at this time of the night, only him and his books. He scratched his head, confused, for he was sure he heard a voice. A very soft and gentle one. It disturbed him.

He crawled out of bed and stepped out of his dwelling. He searched the skies, wishing for an answer. He was superstitious at times and he believed the stars could sometimes solve his predicaments. He just needed to reach and pray.

"The stars are exceedingly bright tonight," he murmured to himself. He ran his eyes across the skies and found a cluster of them glittering. His heart sank and he closed his eyes. He remembered the tale she had told him, that their souls would return to the stars when they passed on. He chose not to believe it, despite how superstitious he was.

He heard the voice again. This time clearer, as if conveying a message. He recognized the voice. He calmed his conscience and felt her reaching for him. She embraced him one last time before she bid farewell. He let her go. She sand a soft song as she turned away.

Birger grimaced and shed a tear. He decided not to return to his chamber and instead sat there for a moment. He watched the stars dance under the moonlight, speaking words to him, and did not sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello my friends. It is a strange fate that this chapter coincides with the darkest hours of my life. I am going through a series of difficult experiences at school and in my daily life, with so much stress pinning me down like an immovable stone. I am tired, exhausted, and sometimes thinking of stopping. I wrote this chapter months ago, but it reflects my distress perfectly. I am picking myself up, hopefully returning as good as new next term, but I am still struggling to keep up. So, if my updates have been inconsistent, please bear with me. I will try my best.**

 **And I like killing people in my stories, you know that already. Hehe. Thank you for reading!**


	22. 0211: The Last Light

Somebody cleared her throat. Ase's eyes left her mother's dagger and she glanced over her shoulder. A beautiful woman stood there. Never had she seen her in Asgard, but she surely knew her back on Earth.

"Ah," Ase chirped and stood up from her seat. "You must be Jane Foster."

Jane was conspicuously surprised that this stranger knew her immediately. "Yes," Jane replied as she received Ase's hand. Shaking it, Jane realised she was not a typical Asgardian. "And you are?"

"My name is Ase. I am from Earth as well," she introduced herself, her voice strained. Jane tilted her head and when she remembered her face back from Frigga's drawing room, Jane's face sank in sympathy.

"I am sorry, for your loss," Jane said. There was no better way to rephrase the words. She knew, through experience, that one's grief was not easily dimmed by words. Perhaps, even, the woman was harbouring intense hatred against her. She was, after all, the cause of the siege and, indirectly, the death of her mother.

"Thank you," Ase retorted without a hint of emotion. Deep inside, however, she was still weeping for her mother. Her conscience was still reprimanding her of her stupidity, for not forgiving her mother before the days turned dark. She should not have left for her father so selfishly either. Her mother would have survived if she had stayed.

But Ase knew too well, now that fate had taught her a lesson, that she should not linger in the past. There was a danger at hand and as a person with capabilities, she must act and help change the tide.

Ase pulled her hand from Jane and a spark shook her entirety. Curiously she took Jane's arm and studied it. Red streams pulsed under her skin, speaking to her in an eerie language. "So it's true. The Aether," she whispered. The energy inside her seemed familiar. It reflected that off the Tesseract and the stone on Loki's scepter, yet different at the same time. Heimdall had explained to her, albeit briefly, that the three of the mystical objects she had encountered were Infinity Stones—the artifacts predating the universe itself. They held immeasurable powers, and Ase would make sure S.H.I.E.L.D. would not meddle with it dangerously once she solved the problem here.

"Do you know how to destroy it?" Jane asked, rather hopeful. Ase immediately shook her head and released her.

"If I have known, the Battle of New York would not have happened," Ase explained. There must be a reason why supernatural objects she had encountered were brimming with similar energy. Perhaps there were more of them out there, untouched and waiting to be found.

Jane furrowed her brows and realised who she was. "You are from S.H.I.E.L.D., aren't you?" Jane guessed.

Ase faked a smile and picked up her mother's dagger. It was single-edged and curved elegantly, its colour as silver as the moon. "I am and I am not. I help people when necessary. If S.H.I.E.L.D. shows signs of diverging from its true purpose, then I am more than willing to destroy it," Ase explained. She sheathed it back to its scabbard and looked at Jane forlornly. "Listen, Jane. The Aether will only be of danger to the people around it until we find how to destroy it. I believe we need to get you elsewhere."

Jane shivered, sensing that the Aether too was draining her life energy right now. "But where do we go?"

"That, is what we are discussing now," Thor said as he entered the room. "My plan will bring you an equal Asgardian punishment. It will be a treason. Are you in."

He directed the question to Ase. Even though her task was to protect the people from the Aether, she as a woman also felt obliged to save Jane. She did not deserve her life being ended short like this. No, she would not let her suffer the same fate as Frigga and Rhea.

"I've just committed a treason and might as well get on with it," Ase responded sternly. "When do we start?"

Thor apparently had had all planned out and was just waiting for volunteers. He held a secretive meeting with Ase, Fandral, Volstagg, and Sif. The secrecy created an illusion as if they were criminals plotting for a rebellion. And they did, for they would be going against Odin's will. Heimdall was also there, and by this time he was fully aware that Ase had escaped Asgard without being authorized. But she deemed that not important right now and ignored his stern eyes.

"What I'm about to ask of you is treason of the highest order," started Thor. "Success will bring us exile and failure will bring us death. Malekith knew the Aether was here, he can sense its power. If we do nothing he will come for it again, but this time lay waste to all of Asgard."

 _Especially without the protection of Rhea and the depleting number of soldiers,_ Ase added in heart, but said nothing. "We must move Jane off world," Thor continued.

"The Bifrost has been shut down and the Tesseract locked away in a vault," Sif informed them grimly,

"And dark magic is no use for you all," Ase added regretfully, though she herself was against the idea. Her previous travels had reaped her off her good health. By using the dark magic alone, she had almost damaged her organs despite the help of the Blood Pendant. It took her several hours in the healing chambers before she could recuperate completely. She and Heimdall were the only ones capable in the group, and it would kill them to transport several people at once.

Heimdall intervened. "There are other paths off Asgard, ways known only to a few," he suggested, glancing at Ase. Thor looked at her pensively as well.

"One, actually," Thor said. They realised who they were referring to.

"No," Volstagg argued.

"If there is no other way," Ase said. "Then I'll vouch for him. You may still not trust him but I do, to a certain extent." They stared at her and wondered what exchanges had she been involved in with the God of Mischief. Ase brushed their glares off her shoulder. Loki had lost his beloved mother, however insistent he was in denying that. The thirst for revenge was gurgling in his blood. He would not betray them, she knew this.

"And I have a bracelet which can paralyse him in a matter of seconds," she added.

oOo

Ase strode into the dungeons nonchalantly, her hands behind her back. She greeted the guards as usual and paced to Loki's cell.

"Hello," Loki greeted. "What brings you here, dear Ase? To argue with me about philosophy once more?" He was still fresh and pristine despite what had happened. Frigga's death should have wrought upon him immense grief. She frowned and decided to finish her task before talking to him. She glanced around, checking the guards' locations, and closed her eyes. Her fingers moved in furtive gesture and magic surrounded her. A gust of wind blew from her body and flew towards the guards.

Loki peered through his glass to see the guards slumping to the floor, swallowed in a satisfying dream. Ase tapped her shoe on the floor and opened her eyes. Slowly, Thor's figure emerged from the entrance, his eyes scanning the field for any ready guards. He was slightly bemused to see them all unconscious.

"You've learnt your magic well," remarked Thor as he joined Ase. His words painted bitter thoughts on her mind. All of her skills were the result of Rhea's effort and generosity. She taught her substantially about magic, rendering her from a blind amateur magician into the powerful sorceress she was now. It

"Thor," Loki greeted. "After all this time and now you come to visit me. Why? Have you come to gloat? To mock?" Ase noticed a discrepancy from his usual tone.

"Loki, it is no use to hide," she reminded him solemnly. Loki grimaced and sighed. The cell shook with magic and all the illusion dissipated, revealing Loki's distraught self, and the result of his anger to the furniture. Ase creased her brows in grief. When she had last visited, he had not been like this. She should not have left him so early.

"Now you see me, brother," Loki declared. "Did she suffer?"

"I did not come here to share our grief. Instead I offer you the chance of a far richer sacrament."

Interest sparked in Loki's eyes and he straightened his back. "Go on," he urged him.

"I know you seek vengeance as much as I do. You help me escape Asgard and I will grant it to you, vengeance. And afterward, this cell," Thor offered. Loki chuckled and turned to Ase, who would have joined his laughter if it were not for the dire circumstance they were in. Thor clearly had no idea what events had materialized during Ase's conversations with Loki.

"You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?" Loki spoke lowly.

"I don't. Mother did. You should know that when fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere," Thor explained.

"He is still there," interrupted Ase as she lifted Rhea's invention. Loki sighed. "Forgive me but our situation is not of the best circumstance. You know what happens if you betray us."

"We'll paralyse you and then proceed to kill you," Thor continued in her stead. He clearly did not agree with her opinion, but she knew he still believed that a little part of his brother still remained in Loki. They knew he was just in a more twisted manner, but his conscience, if pressured, would still direct to the good. This was his pressure.

"When do we start?" Loki asked. Ase looked at him meaningfully and stepped forward. Armed with her mother's knowledge, she quickly disabled the barrier enclosing Loki's cell and entered. She gestured him to show his wrist and he did. Swiftly and wordlessly she put the bracelet around his wrist, activating it so it glowed red. Without Rhea's presence, Ase's blood would be the key to forcefully open the equipment.

"Please stay quiet," Ase pleaded as she pursed her lips. "I don't want to make this more difficult for you."

"Don't worry. I dare not play if you are with us," Loki assured her mischievously. Ase lifted her head and met Loki's gaze. She paused and stood there, frozen. She could see again the grim signs of exhaustion scarring his face when he had arrived to steal the Tesseract. Up close, he was no different than any Asgardian, although past the illusion, a Jotun remained. His features were gently when she thought about it, unlike Thor's rigid and rough complexion. He seemed like the person who could talk her to her sleep. Her heart beat began to pound her chest.

Loki opened his mouth, as if to speak a word to her, but he relented. Perhaps this was not the best time to convey his message to her, she thought. Ase stepped back and fumbled with the contents of her satchel. She took out of it two daggers, as well as several smaller throwing knives. Loki's eyes glimmered when he saw them, for somehow she had brought his own set of weapons.

"I don't believe your promise," Ase said. "But least this will shut you up."

Thor urged them to quicken their exchange. They did and leapt out of the cell. Thor tightened his grip to his hammer and they began their journey to betrayal. "We need to get out of the city. There is a mountain in which we can pass through by air," explained Loki as they marched away from the dungeons and into the palace. "We need to steal a ship."

"We will work on it," Ase said. She suddenly blocked Thor and Loki from proceeding. There were two guards waiting across their path. They widened their eyes when they saw them, but before they could react, Ase had swung her arms and flung them to a nearby pillar. The guards were knocked unconscious almost immediately, and they returned to their pace.

From afar, Jane foster finally arrived, free from the forceful protection of Asgardian guards. She caught Loki's sight and furiously quickened her footsteps. Loki lifted his hands to greet her, only to receive a sharp slap of the cheek. He faked his grimace and smiled.

"That was for New York," Jane explained. Ase looked away and smiled. As she did so, she saw a troop of Eiherjar guards emerged from the doorway.

"There they are! Take them!" alerted one of the guards. Ase stepped forward between her comrades and the guards. She pushed the guards away from them and flicked her finger, summoning a mighty wall of ice reaching the ceiling. Sif grabbed her shoulder and pushed her aside.

"I'll hold them off," Sif told her as she unsheathed her weapon. "Take her." Ase nodded and followed Thor's lead. Ase pushed Loki lightly when she found he had limped from the months of no physical activity. Swiftly, they sprinted to a wrecked hall, where an alien ship and Volstagg were waiting. Ase skidded to a halt and studied their new ride.

"I will give you as much time as I can," Volstagg promised, shaking Thor's hand. Ase tapped the plane's body and turned to them, brows flying.

"Could anyone of you even pilot this?" inquired Ase in a low voice. Thor shrugged his shoulders and got into the ship, Loki and Jane following suit. But Volstagg blocked Loki from entering and gave him a death threat first before he released him. Volstagg looked at Ase, believing in her entirely to watch over Thor. Ase assured him that she would not let him even out of sight. Before she disappeared into the ship, she summoned a wall of ice in front of the entrance, and bid Volstagg a good luck.

The interior of the ship was dark, evidently constructed by the Dark Elves. Ase closed the ship's door and stood beside Jane, who could merely stare at her. "Where did you get those powers if you are a human?" she asked.

"I am not," Ase answered. She peered to watch Volstagg. The wall of ice was holding the guards off, but she saw several torches glowing behind the fabric of frost and she frowned. She turned to her comrades, who were arguing on how to pilot the ship. She heard strange whirs coming from the control panel.

"Are you sure you could fly this ship?" Ase asked again as her eyes came back and forth, from Volstagg's battlefield to the control panel. The ice was melting incredibly fast, and she realised who was behind that wall. A boom confirmed her suspicions and she staggered back. A sorcerer stood before them, one of Rhea's best. She remembered him being appointed the new head of court sorcerers. Dread further crept up her chest.

"Well, whatever you're doing, brother, I suggest you do it faster," urged Loki.

"Shut up Loki," Thor shot back.

"You must have missed something," Loki added.

"No, I didn't. I'm pressing every button on this thing," Thor reasoned.

"That's not how you start a ship," Ase suggested.

"No, don't hit it. Just press it gently," Loki offered. Thor's frustration reached its peak.

"I'm pressing it gently, it's not working!" Thor exclaimed, causing Jane to shudder. Ase was about to step in when the ship's engines hummed into life and lights flickered fluorescent blue. Azure holograms sparked around the cockpit, surrounding it like a sphere. Ase sighed in relief and Thor let out a satisfied laughter.

Jane yelped when the ship trembled terribly, throwing Ase off her feet. She grunted and almost rolled away if it wasn't for Jane catching her hand. Through the cockpit screens, the two women could see what was occurring outside the ship. Thor navigated the vehicle violently out of the palace, breaking several pillars of the palace. Although it would cost Thor a great deal of Odin's rage after this—if he had not had already—it certainly impeded the guards' progress to reach them.

The ship flew out of the palace quickly, spinning in the air as it evaded the targets of several defence guns. Ase pulled herself up once Thor gained control over the ship, but she gripped the wall beside her just to be safe. She was slightly surprised that he was this agile in piloting a new ship.

Beside her, Jane suddenly sighed. Ase looked down and shuddered when she saw Jane slumping down. Her face was pale and Ase could feel her heart beat pulsing a fraction slower. Immediately, Ase knelt down to examine her. Red veins glinted under the dim light, though Ase realised it was brighter than before.

"Oh dear. Is she dead?" Loki asked.

"I'm okay," Jane assured them, but Ase turned to her comrades and flashed a disapproving face.

"I will try to suppress the Aether," Ase said doubtfully. The Aether was extremely impulsive, almost volatile if touched, but Ase had dealt objects like it before and she could at least shield Jane's body from the effects of the stone using her own energy. In the cockpit, Thor threatened Loki from saying another word, and shockingly, he obeyed his commands.

The ship suddenly swayed and Ase gripped Jane's wrist once more. She looked back at the cockpit and saw several Asgardian ship chasing at them. The plane jolted as it crashed the head of a statue, apparently, and it went on speeding up. Ase tried her best to focus on Jane's wellbeing, but the constant disturbance outside prevented her from doing so.

"You know, this is wonderful," Loki protested. "This is a tremendous idea. Let's steal the biggest, most obvious ship in the universe and escape in that. Flying around the city, smashing into everything in sight so everyone can see us. It's brilliant, Thor! It's truly brilliant—" Loki shouted when Thor suddenly shoved him off board and into the free air. It was according to plan, but still it startled Ase.

Thor left his seat and rushed to Jane. "I'll carry her," Thor said. Ase supported Jane and handed her over to Thor. He took her gently and walked to the platform facing the sky.

"You go first," Ase urged him. "I'll cover you."

Thor hesitated, fearing her safety as well. "Go!" she ordered him. Instantly Thor jumped off the ship, disappearing far beneath her. Ase sprinted to the cockpit and bent the ship's direction sideways, pulling their pursuers' attention away from Thor. Ase then drew a deep breath and stepped to the edge of the ship. After she saw that he landed safely on Fandral's vehicle, Ase readied herself for the leap of faith.

Her feet propelled herself upwards. Ase felt as light as a feather, looking down to mark her landing strip.

She heard an explosion behind her. Her body was thrown forward, farther from her initial path of fall. Another explosion followed. The blast snatched her vision from her. She could see nothing and feel nothing. Briefly she saw her mother's hand reaching for her, but she had descended to an abyss before she could even touched her fingers.

Then she heard a voice. His voice.

oOo

Loki shook his head from disorientation, still not believing what Thor had done to him. Then again, he did not begrudge him for the action. He might as well deserve it. Fandral laughed when he saw Loki's inelegant fall, and Loki scowled in return. He pulled himself up to his feet and staggered back when Thor landed beside him, with his lover in his arms.

"Where is Ase?" Loki immediately asked. Thor urged him to look up, and he did. He saw her leaping off the ship, as smoothly as she could be. But one of the bullets fired by the Asgardian ships hit her leaping platform, exploding it viciously. Loki's sweat ran cold when he saw Ase's body being flung away from her previous path.

"Oh no, she's way too far," Fandral remarked and steered his ship towards her body. Loki warily eyed her fall. She somersaulted in the air, but it did not seem as if she controlled her maneuver. The wind blew her further from them, and Fandral cursed under his breath. Loki finally understood wahat was happening.

"She is unconscious!" Loki alerted the others. Fandral's laughter was killed on the spot, and that would be Ase's fate if she continued to descend like this. "Ase! Ase wake up!" shouted Loki to the top of his lungs. He cursed to himself, for if he had learnt force magic better from Rhea, then he could help her. But in this circumstance, only she herself could prevent her death.

Miraculously, Ase fluttered her eyes opened, but she had not yet grasped her situation. "Ase! Look at me!" Loki instructed to her. She did, still half-conscious, and slowly she realised what was going on. Her warrior senses flicked on and she tried to regain her balance in air. Her body finally found a definite path, yet she was flying too close to the sea.

"Closer!" Thor urged Fandral.

"I'm trying!" Fandral protested. Above, Ase began using her powers to slow down her descend, but the distance was too close. If she continued on, she would perhaps hit the people onboard. Loki walked towards the edge of the ship and lifted his hands.

"Ase! Look at me!" he shouted once more. "I will catch you! Do you hear me?"

Pale-faced, Ase desperately nodded. The ship managed to approach just below her. Around Loki, all sounds were silenced. His eyes met hers as her fingers touched his. He held his breath. His senses were triggered and he received her brutally on the chest. She slipped towards the sea because of the momentum of her fall, but Loki pulled himself to the ship. He wrapped his arms around her as he did so to shield her from the impact. He groaned when the pain finally stung his back.

He finally breathed when he was sure they were safe. She was panting with him, her breaths matching his rhythm. He loosened his grasp on her and looked down. "Are you alright?" he whispered. She glanced up and pondered for a moment.

"Yes, I am," she slowly answered as she studied herself. Faintly, her cheeks flushed, only enough to tinge her pale face red. She was so beautiful up close, more beautiful than any woman he had met. Never had she judged a person by her first impression. She always observed closely, as if willing to unravel the deepest pains of someone so that she could heal him. She did so to him, and now he could not see her the same anymore. She was no longer his enemy, or an ordinary friend.

A sense of foreboding crept up his spine. The mission they embarked on was a treacherous one. Knowing her, she would certainly exact revenge on Malekith and his minions, but her enemies were not ordinary soldiers. He would lose himself if she were to kill herself in battle.

Ase cleared her throat quietly and Loki understood her indication. He slowly let her go. Both of them helped each other up and heaved. She saw slight burns on her neck, a result of the explosion, and he would offer to heal her if it weren't not for Thor interrupting him.

"Now, do as you promised," Thor demanded. "Take us to your secret pathway." Loki smirked and shooed away Fandral. The ship instantly sped up, taking a steep bend at the bridge and heading towards the mountains. Thor looked at Loki questioningly.

Ase knelt down to Jane and checked on her. She could do nothing in this chaos, she admitted disappointingly. Behind them, a ship pursued, firing projectiles at them. Ase grumbled in annoyance and stood up to face the ship. But Loki directed the ship so artfully such that it evaded all of the attacks. Apparently, he was the better pilot than Thor.

"For Asgard," Fandral declared before he bid farewell to the company. He swung swiftly to the ship behind, landing gently with a thud. Ase watched as he wreaked havoc among the soldiers. Proudly, he saluted Thor and the rest, before he drifted the ship away from them.

Loki proceeded in his insane plane. He diverted the ship to a nearby mountain, where a small narrow gap could be seen between the strata of rock. Thor glared at him accusingly.

"Loki," Thor warned him. But Loki was enjoying himself, or rather, enjoying Thor's distraught.

"If it were that easy, anyone could do it," Loki reasoned.

"Are you mad?"

"Possibly."

Ase feared for Loki's action, but her trust on his mad decision left her no choice. The rocks were finally before them. Ase gritted her teeth and thrust her hands forward. In the nick of time, she formed a force field around the ship. The barrier managed to protect it from the brunt friction of the wall, though the recoil to the ship's passengers were no less encouraging. It continued to speed up, sparks blinking at the edges of the ship which immediately turned into bursts of light.

A rainbow of rays finally enveloped the ship. Ase closed her eyes and braced herself. A moment flew past by and the sheer brightness dissipated suddenly. She peeled off her eyes and greeted her new battlefield. A dark, devastating scene, which unbeknownst to them would reflect the battle which would follow.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi guys! I am back! With a newfound power and strength! Exams are over for the moment and I now have the time to continue writing this delayed story, after months of not updating. I am really really sorry for that but life has not been kind to me. First of all, thank you for staying with me this far. Your support and reviews really encourage me to improve my writing again, even after the devastating marks I got for my composition test. I realise that by stopping writing my skills are deteriorating instead. So from now I'll try to write and read as much as I can.**

 **In the meanwhile, I've watched Endgame and boy it is damn good and epic. I wanted to change the ending of Infinity War for my story but after watching Endgame I decided not to because dang it was too epic to be changed. I hope I can reach those movies soon though hahaha.**

 **Anyways, I'll be posting quite regularly during my holidays, after which I will be posting weekly (I hope) as the national exams are approaching. See you later!**


	23. 0212: In the Name of Love

Svartalfheim lived up to its name. The land of the Dark Elves were shadowed by eternal darkness, spanning across the horizon like a sea of the dead. It was a wasteland beyond measure, incomparable to Jotunheim's winter fields. To Ase, the world seemed more desolated than her father's home, completely devoid of creature of morals, as if the people themselves painted the sky dark and washed the seas grim.

Ase narrowed her eyes warily as they navigated across the remnants of civilization. A terrible war had occurred there, the war between Asgardians and the Dark Elves. Had the crimes of the Dark Elves been that devastating that they must be wiped out of the universe?

 _She killed mother,_ she reminded herself, the heart-wrenching scene replaying itself. She frowned deeply, clutching Jane's palm tighter so as to channel more energy to her. The Aether, as if being driven home, began to pulse more erratically, draining Jane's life force more quickly than before. Ase had no other choice but to support Jane with her own energy.

Thor held Jane's other hand desperately, fearing the worst for his love. Loki looked at Ase solemnly, before turning to Thor. "What I could do with the power that flows through those veins," Loki began.

"It would consume you," argued Thor.

"She's holding up alright," Loki instead said, a mischievous allure in his voice, yet he spoke so with a serious expression. "For now," he added.

"She's strong in ways you'd never even know," Thor reasoned.

"Say goodbye," Loki suggested. Ase widened her eyes.

"Not this day."

Loki's face darkened and he leaned forward. "This day, the next, a hundred years, it's nothing. It's a heartbeat. You'll never be ready," Loki argued. "The only woman whose love you've prized will be snatched from you."

"And does that satisfy you?" accused Thor. Loki shook his head.

"Satisfaction is not in my nature," Loki retorted.

"Surrender is not in mine," Thor shot back. This silenced Loki for a moment. Ase watched as the tension grew between them. She stepped back out of their quarrel and retreated to herself. This was a fight between brothers, who used to be a family of their own. She had no place in this.

Loki chuckled smugly. "The son of Odin—"

"No," Thor interrupted, taking a stand and threatening Loki with his approaching steps. "Not just of Odin. You think you alone were loved of Mother? You had her tricks, but I had her trust."

Loki shuddered as Thor brought their mother. "Trust? Was that her last expression? Trust? When you let her die?"

A pang hit Ase's shoulder when she heard Loki's words, for somehow she heard them being directed to her. Images of her mother in her last moments reemerged.

"What help were you in your cell?" Thor hissed. Loki scoffed, clutching his own fists in order to suppress his anger. Ase weakly stood up as she sensed hostility brewing among the two.

"Who put me there?" accused Loki loudly. "Who put me there?"

"You know damn well!" screamed Thor as he tried to lunge at Loki. Ase jumped in just in time to prevent a brawl between the two, though it took her an ounce of her strength to push Thor back to his seat.

" _Enough,"_ Ase warned sharply, her calmness surprised her own self. Both of them were panting heavily, the infuriation scarring their faces. "We all have lost our mothers. I do feel for you. But it is not time to place _blame_ on one another!" she insisted desperately. Her right cheek felt cold from the single drop of tear flowing down her face. She wiped it slowly and stared at her feet. Loki and Thor anger was abated when they saw that she too was resisting the temptation to fall into her emotions.

"She wouldn't want us to fight," Thor said.

Loki paused for a moment before speaking. "Well, she wouldn't exactly be shocked."

This invited a small chuckle from Thor, knowing that his brother was still there. Ase sniffed and looked away from them. "I wish I could trust you," Thor ended on a sad note before returning to Jane's side.

"Trust my rage," Loki whispered, thus ending their short quarrel. It was like having a brotherly argument with Thor againHe tried to deny it, but his connection with Thor was too strong to be severed by being in different sides of the battle.

"You should cherish him while you can, Loki," advised Ase suddenly. Remorse hit Loki when he realised he had accidentally hurt Ase by fighting with Thor as well.

"You've never told me about your family," Loki said hesitantly. He had only known that she was born from two opposite worlds, his own and Asgard. But throughout their numerous conversations, she had not revealed her true story to him.

"It's not exactly a happy story, Loki," whispered Ase finally. "My mother was wounded during the war between Jotunheim and Asgard. My father, Birger is his name, healed Rhea and they fell in love. I could not stay in Asgard, obviously, so she sent me to Midgard." Ase folded her arms and continued to observe the skies. She sniffed solemnly, trying to withhold her emotions only failing to do so.

Much of her grief was his fault. He had robbed her of one of her comrades and, in doing so, inadvertently brought Rhea her demise. And what had she done in return? Nothing but companionship and understanding. Loki's heart ached, so painfully, as he thought of his past actions.

Loki touched her shoulder and squeezed it gently. Ase turned around and gazed at his forlorn face. "Forgive me, for causing you so much suffering."

Ase pursed her lips and reached for his hand. She did not brush it away, instead she clasped hers on his. "It is very ironic to see so many people seeking for forgiveness from me… When I should be the one who apologises," she told him. Finally, after a while, she did push his hand away. She did not despise his effort to comfort her. Rather, she disliked herself for being so pathetic in this situation.

"There is no need for this."

As they approached their enemies, Ase became more visibly distressed. She constantly investigated the sky, implying her anxiety over the nearing Convergence. Then she would glance at the horizon, as if knowing where their adversaries were. At one point, Jane rose from her sleep, driven by an unknown entity. Her eyes were as dark as they night, and she spoke of Malekith's name as if responding to his call.

Ase drew a deep breath and shook a strange feeling off her mind. They stopped in a barren wasteland—if the Dark Elves' home had not been that already—and grimly they climbed out their ride. Ase walked behind her friends and eyed the approaching enemies. They were outnumbering them, but Ase did not focus on the petty soldiers. Her eyes drifted to the larger soldier at the centre, apparently unscathed from his previous battle. She clenched her fists and buried her rage deep within a pit, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

"Considering they have greater numbers," Loki said suddenly. "We need a plan." The others stared at him suspiciously, for it was difficult for the God of Mischief to be trusted at this point. But Ase assured them with a nod, and Loki proceeded quickly before Malekith and his forces arrived.

They halted their steps and faced their opponents. Jane trembled in dread when she saw Malekith closing in. Ase tried her best to maintain her composure. It was utmost difficult at this point.

"Whatever I do," Loki whispered to her when Thor coaxed Jane down. "Trust me. And act well."

Ase stared at him in fear, perhaps remembering the tragic incident in the past. Loki would not want to do this to her, not when he himself who had harmed her in that S.H.I.E.L.D. base, but he had no choice. Ase nodded bitterly, conveying her full trust to his actions.

And so, Loki took out the dagger which she had given to him, and slashed her on the throat. Ase gasped and grabbed her neck as she dropped to her knees. Jane let out a silent scream when she saw Ase's blood staining the sand.

Loki moved swiftly and dashed towards his brother. He pierced Thor's rib quickly and pulled his weapon away. None too gently, he kicked Thor off the hill and forced him to tumble down to the lower ground.

"Thor!" Jane shouted. Loki pursued Thor madly, whilst Jane pushed herself to save her lover. Loki never glanced back to the dying Ase.

"You really think I cared about Frigga?" Loki asked as he chuckled. "About any of you?"

Thor tried to rise to his feet, but Loki once more kicked him on the head and sent his hammer away. "All I ever wanted, was to see you and Odin dead at my feet!"

Thor crouched desperately and reached for his hammer. But Loki mercilessly took his arm and chopped it off with a single slice of his dagger. Thor's scream echoed across the realm, followed by Jane's own. She rushed to Thor's side, unable to do a thing. Loki panted for a moment before he snatched Jane and forcefully dragged her to Malekith, who had encouraged himself to get near after the events which had unfolded. Loki pulled Jane upward and displayed her to Malekith, smiling proudly of his new deception.

"Malekith! I am Loki of Jotunheim! And I bring you a gift!" Loki declared. He pushed Jane to the Dark Elf, sending her to the floor. Malekith stared in disbelief. "I only ask one thing in return: a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn."

Malekith's soldiers murmured amongst one another. Malekith's right-hand man whispered to him words, which Loki caught glimpses of. He had notice him in the Asgardian dungeons, and in accordance, he was an enemy of Asgard. Loki fisted his knuckles and prayed his trick would play itself smoothly.

Malekith smiled, if his constantly frowning face allowed him to, and implied his conviction to work with Loki. He walked to Thor's limping body and knocked him over, so the god's face saw him clearly. Slowly Malekith lifted his hand and pulled Jane to the air. She grunted and struggled to break free, but Malekith's invisible grip over her was unbeatable. As easily as drawing out water from a well, he sucked the Aether out of Jane's body. It was like blood being drained from her very veins. Loki stepped back in horror as the last drops of the Aether was writhed free.

And it was time for them to be free.

A loud crack burst from atop the hill, splitting the air open with a thunderous roar. Malekith and his forces looked up just too late to find a train of raging ice running towards them. It ruptured the ground just in front of them and threw them astray from the Aether's reach.

Loki grinned and dispelled his illusion on Thor, revealing his uninjured arm and unstabbed chest. Loki rushed to Jane, dragging her out of the impending battle which had started with Thor calling out his hammer. Mjolnir heard its master and in a flash arrived at his hand. Thor thrust his hammer upwards, summoning a mighty lightning which streaked across the skies and blasted the Aether.

Malekith's soldiers began to move to stop Thor, but they were hit with icicles which in an instant froze the ground beneath their feet. They looked up to their horrors to see Ase charging at them at full speed, before summoning an even freezing frost which fully enveloped their bodies. Ase, unharmed and furious, came face to face with Malekith as Thor tried to destroy the Aether.

"I've come to collect a debt," Ase declared as the Aether screamed in agony. Malekith's commander was about to confront her, but Ase had seen enough—had _experienced_ enough—to prevent the same thing from repeating itself. So she placed her palms together and closed her eyes. All her anger and grief she placed upon her hands. The knowledge from Rhea she had mastered, the memories she had shared, she channeled to this one attack.

With a swift dodge sideways, evading her enemy's grasp, she swiped her hand on the floor, and unleashed her rage. A giant, terribly ice mountain broke through the surface of the earth and engulfed Malekith and his commander in it. It reached high to the sky, forming a tower seemingly carved by stone giants. Malekith and his forces laid unmoved inside their icy cage, and their expressions wrought a satisfied smile on Ase's face.

"Ase! Get down!" Thor shouted. She whirled around to see the Aether condensing itself, seemingly writhing away. Thor's thunder intensified and Ase rushed to Jane and Loki. The Aether exploded brightly, producing a shockwave which pushed the three backwards. Ase closed her eyes as dust threatened them, shielding the rest with her back and her power.

Ase coughed as the dust settled around them, clearing their vision after a long moment of suspense. She stood up and searched for Thor, who was undeniably unscathed once he finished his part of the plane. Jane staggered up and, as she saw Thor, smiled in relief. Ase sighed and observed the result of their endeavor.

The battlefield was beautiful, to say bluntly. The large ice sculpture Ase created embellished the hollow atmosphere of the realm. "It has ended," Ase realised with a scoff. She could not believe it. Finally, she had exacted her revenge on her mother, and the universe was saved from an eternal darknes—

Ase heard a loud screech coming from above. She widened her eyes and turned slowly in horror. The Aether emerged from nothing, slinking eerily and as lively as before. "Thor!" Ase screamed. But the Aether was not targeting him. Instead, it ran through Ase, suffocating every bit of her energy, and knocked her down.

She heard Loki screaming her name, then a deafening collapse of a huge structure. She glanced up from her lying position and saw the icy case on her enemies pulverizing into dust. The Aether reached Malekith's hand, brimming him with power and turning his skin as dark as the night. His soldiers were revived, so was his commander, and they were freed from their prison. Ase's face paled.

 _Everything is useless against the Stone._

Loki skidded to her side and supported her up. "I can't feel anything," Ase told him. "I don't have any energy left."

"You should get out of here," Loki instructed her, but before he could carry her away to safety, Malekith had unleashed the powers of the Aether, and swept his enemies away from him. Loki lost grasp of Ase and slid away from her. _No._ What he feared began pounding at his head.

Malekith scoffed smugly and turned his back from Thor's company. Thor growled, refusing his defeat, and without further thought charged at Malekith's soldiers. He received no resistance, but their numbers were overwhelming him and slowing him down from reaching Malekith.

Ase wriggled and tried to support herself. Malekith was running away, but where would he head next with his newfound strength? She had been informed of the Dark Elves' true purpose: to bring darkness to the Nine Realms. But at this point of time, when the Convergence was about to reach its peak, Malekith could start from anywhere. Yet, among all the realms, one place stood out in her mind.

Earth.

"Shit!" Ase cursed. She put her fingers in the ground, exerting every ounce of her being to them, but no ice materialized from their tips. Somehow the Aether had drained her all of her energy. Out of all times, why should she be useless now?

Thor continued to rampage through Malekith's soldiers. Malekith's commander acknowledged the god's presence after a while and took from him a small grenade. Ase caught a glimpse of it being thrown into the air, towards Loki. She screamed his name. He took attention of it and pushed Jane from its point of impact. As the grenade exploded, a black hole formed from thin air, and began sucking Loki into it.

He looked at her one last time, seemingly bidding farewell to her. But Ase refused to accept another of her loved ones being killed. With an indescribable spirit, she limped to him and reached for his hand. He caught it, grabbed it for his life, and Ase pulled him to the ground with a groan. She panted heavily and waited until the black hole dissipated completely.

Thor confronted Malekith's commander, engaging him into a gruesome fight which did not hold advantage for Thor. Ase and Loki stood up, only to see themselves being surrounded as well.

"Are you sure you can still fight?" Loki asked sharply. Ase shrugged her shoulders and assembled her staff. It had been so long since she had fought with it.

"We will soon find out," she replied. The soldiers charged at them wildly. Ase moved swiftly among her enemies, hitting them down one by one with her weapon. Her attacks did not pulverize them because of her lost strength. Loki decapitated his enemies more effectively than her, she noticed, but she did not stop.

Thor screamed from afar. Loki and Ase immediately searched for him once they had finished their own enemies. Malekith's commander ruthlessly pounded Thor's head, cracking the ground with him. Ase frowned dreadfully as she was reminded of her mother's death, and glanced at Loki. Without hesitation and without plan, they charged at their last enemy.

Loki stabbed him in the chest with a blade he stole from another Dark Elf soldier. The monster merely looked at him in amusement and punched him out of his way. Loki groaned at the sidelines, suffering from his inability to endure brutal attacks. Ase instantly proceeded to replace him in battle and took out her staff.

Ase yelled out a battle cry and swung her staff at his ribs. It pounded him, but not strong enough to throw him away. She gasped when he grabbed her head and crushed her body to the ground. She screamed gruesomely and lost all sense of her nerves. The world darkened, the sounds deafened, her breaths slowing down.

For perhaps the second time in her life, Ase thought of her death. It was less painful now that she had experienced it the second time. Like a person just going to sleep after a tiresome day.

Yet, just like before, she had so many things too lose.

Ase opened her eyes abruptly and struggled to be free from her enemy's grasp. _I will not die like this!_ She vowed herself. But her enemy's grip on her was too strong. She was fully pinned to the ground, only able to watch in horror as he pulled out the blade pierced to his chest and aimed it at Ase.

"ASE!" shouted a voice so familiar to her. Before she could grasp it, before she could understand what was going on, the blade was descending towards her. She braced for the pain, for the agony which would end her life.

But it never arrived.

Ase widened her eyes.

Loki smiled back, for the first time a truly sincere smile. The blade was imbedded deep into his stomach. Ase cried. Her enemy cruelly pulled his blade out of Loki's body. Loki gasped and limped to Ase's shoulder, blooding pouring from his abdomen.

"How ironic," Loki coughed. Her world came to a stop.

"No, no, no," Ase said quickly. She needed to heal him. Everything was repeating itself. Frigga's death, her own death, Coulson's death. Ase stood amongst them, helpless and useless even with her powers. She cursed herself. Darkness enveloped her own being, dragging her down to an endless abyss.

Her enemy did not stop there. He would not spare them mercy, just like he had with her mother and Frigga.

" _No,"_ Ase hardened herself. She settled Loki aside. Her heart burnt with ferocity. An unexpected spirit surged within her, and she could feel her powers overflowing. It must be her rage which caused it, but she knew it was something else.

"The Convergence," Loki groaned. "Jotunheim."

Ase immediately understood what he meant. Beyond her, the worlds were aligning, opening portals between one another, connecting them into a single river. She searched the river, seeking her father's world. There were whispers coming from it, even her father's own words. They encouraged her, pushed her further beyond her limits.

Surely, she accepted her heritage, her past. She reached out to Jotunheim. Energy poured into her like a waterfall cascading to a river. Ase gritted her teeth and gripped the monster's hand on her. Frost immediately conquered his flesh, so cold it shook the air with its rapidly descending temperature. Ase did not hesitate and took her mother's knife from her belt. She quickly pierced his hand with it. His limb broke away from his body.

Ase leapt to her feet and charged at her opponent. Without giving him a single fraction second, she gripped his demon of a head and gritted her teeth. Ice encased his head instantly, followed by his lower torso and his feet.

He might have broken his cage once, but not this time.

"For my mother," she declared. Full of conviction, she swung her mother's dagger at his head. His skull shattered in an instant, his body falling apart like a broken statue. The scene was endearing and heart-wrenching at the same time. Finally, her mother was avenged, and her sacrifice was not in vain.

"Loki!" Thor exclaimed as he rushed to his brother's side. Ase gasped and quickly knelt beside Loki, pressing her hand on his abdomen and began healing him. But the bleeding was too profuse, and the wound too deep to be mended so quickly.

"Oh, fool, you didn't listen," Thor said as he tried to support Loki.

"I am a fool," Loki stuttered with what was left of his breath. He grimaced and tears began falling off his face. Here he was, being protected by those he had tried to harm. Such a strange world it was. He had done so much wrong to them, to the world, yet they continued to believe in him, till the end.

"I am sorry," Loki whispered as he trembled. "I am so sorry."

Ase gritted her teeth, looking into the dim light in his eyes. "Stay with me, okay?" she told him. Her cheek was cold from the drop of tear trailing down her face. "You told me you're going to say a word to me after I returned. I demand you keep that promise. Just hold on a little bit longer. The spell will take its effect soon." But Ase ended that on a discouraging note, for there was nothing she could do but prolong his death.

Loki looked at Thor meaningfully and shifted closer to Ase. "There is no time," Loki whispered. She gazed into his eyes. He remained silent, but from seeing each other alone she could understand what he tried to convey. She comprehended his emotions, for she too shared them. They had bonded with each other for months, never too careless to divulge their feelings, but finally they could.

Loki leaned forward and touched her face. He studied her, her beauty, her deepest weaknesses, one last time. Then he kissed her gently on the lips.

At first it startled her, but she had expected this as well. They had waited for this, in the midst of all the chaos around them. A fallen prince and an exile. She closed her eyes, trying to suppress the well of tears in her eyes, and connected with him.

It was a brief moment. Fate did not side with them. Fate never sides with her. Loki pulled back and smiled at her. "I have loved you, Ase," he told her as he cried. "This is my word."

Ase sobbed and grasped his hand. She swallowed all he had said to her. Never had anyone said that to her. Now, she knew she was loved by someone, but it's too late.

"I love you too," Ase whispered gently.

Loki smiled weakly once again, his being fading from his vessel. "I just wished… that we have… more _time_ ," Loki answered as he laid on the ground. His breathing softened, his eyes dimming. As if receiving words consolation from Ase, he finally settled in peace and surrendered to time.

Ase did not move when he finally closed his eyes. And he finally left them, passing to the land of the dead.

Ase sank to Loki's cold chest and wept. Why hadn't she realised her feelings sooner? Why was fate cruel to people like them? Why had she been such a fool?

Now there was no one waiting for her anymore, no more of the only person who truly understood her.

She was, again, alone.

 **A/N: Hi guys! Hope you've enjoyed the story. This chapter was really saddening to me but we all know what actually happened (haha). But I feel Ase will be completely disheartened by Loki's apparent death, and her losses would leverage her characterisation in the future.**

 **So I have decided that I will be posting author's notes only when necessary, because I may not have the chance to write on the pre-written chapters before publishing them according to schedule. Please bear with me :)**

 **I'll see you guys around! Hope you have a pleasant day!**


	24. 0213: The End is Nigh

The air suffocated her. It choked her lungs into crumbles. It pierced her skin like glass. It wrenched her heart to blood.

No word has been exchanged among the remaining company after Loki died in Ase's arms. His death scarred Thor and Ase deeply. For Thor, he had lost a dear brother, who despite all his attempts to hate the Asgardian, did not actually harbor malice against him. For Ase, she had lost someone who truly understood her, to which she could share her grief. Perhaps Loki had not known it, but he was loved more than he could truly care for.

But why hadn't she realised his feelings sooner? Why hadn't she realised her own sooner?

 _Because I am foolish and too proud of myself that I ignore the others,_ she reminded herself.

The shadow of death now loomed over them like a predator waiting for its prey, and the fact that Malekith had escaped only worsened this situation. In addition to this, a sandstorm had struck the realm of the Dark Elves, and they could not find their ship.

Fate certainly did not side with them.

Wordlessly, Ase led them to the nearest shelter, a confined cave close to the place where they had fought. Ase fidgeted as she protected them from the sandstorm, occasionally glancing to random locations because she had noticed a surge of energy from these places. The Convergence had allowed energies from different dimensions to connect with one another, forming a long continuous line which mixed the energies within the realms. Ase realised that besides opening up portals, the Convergence allowed sorcerers and magic users to become stronger exponentially. It was an advantage both to her and Malekith.

Finally, Jane broke the stifling silence, and turned to them. "He's gonna unleash it, not just on Asgard or on a star, Malekith is gonna destroy everything."

This abated the grief a minute and reminded the other two of their dire circumstance. "How did you know that?" Thor asked.

"When the Aether was being drawn out of me, I had a vision," Jane explain hesitantly. "I saw him, Malekith, on Earth. Why would he go to Earth?"

Then Ase's previous thought hit her. "The Convergence connects all realms together, like a river. If I'm not mistaken, Midgard is located in the middle of the Nine Realms. If he unleashes it on Earth, then it other realms will be affected in an instant."

Jane cursed internally. "Oh God. None of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether."

"Then Malekith would have only possessed it that much sooner," Thor reasoned.

"I only found it because I was looking for you," Jane argued. The two looked at each other and their hearts melted. Ase groaned silently and shifted her eyes elsewhere. This was not time for hugs and kisses, but she had no place to disturb them at the end of the world. She thought deeply, thinking of ways to get out of there without wasting time in finding their ship. She could use Dark Magic to transport them, but she could perhaps only do it for Thor, for if she performed a second one on Jane, she might tear her body to pieces. _But then again, there is the Convergence,_ she thought.

Suddenly, a music played out of nowhere. Ase turned to Jane, who widened her eyes and fumbled with her pocket. She took out her cellphone—a surprise she was still holding it—and answered a call, which was not supposed to happen out of Midgard.

 _Unless…_ Ase closed her eyes and studied her surroundings mentally.

" _Hi Jane. It's Richard,"_ greeted Jane's caller. Apparently, her phone's sound was too loud. Jane gasped and looked at Thor warily.

"Richard? Where are you?" Jane asked. Thor raised both brows in suspicions.

" _I'm still in the office. It's… It's been a crazy day here today,"_ Richard replied. Thor stepped closer to Jane, who took a further step back to Ase.

Jane yelped in joy and laughed. "Oh, my God! This is amazing!"

 _"Is it? I quite enjoyed our lunch despite never actually ordering anything,"_ Richard laughed in return. Jane paused for a long moment and looked at Ase, who coincidentally opened her eyes. An unexpected spirit and hope brightened her face.

"How am I getting service here?" Jane wondered. Ase knelt down and lifted something. She showed it to Jane. It was an empty soda can, produced nowhere else other than on Earth. Jane grinned and Ase quirked a smile. _Keep him on the phone,_ she instructed as she gestured Thor to follow her.

Ase quickly scrambled deeper into the cave, following the surge of energy which had just appeared in the chasm. She urged the others quickly and they followed. Meanwhile, Jane's call with her boy friend Richard became increasingly disrupted by the vibrant field of energy. Before long, his voice disappeared into thin air. Ase quickened her pace for the fear of losing their temporary portal, only to trip foolishly later and falling onto a flat, concrete surface.

 _Concrete?_ Ase wondered, then looked up. Before her several apartments lit by electric lamps. At the side was a red car, with several storage rooms across it. It was night, but there were no stars, for there were too many lamps that the stars were veiled. She knew where they were.

"We're back on Earth," Ase sighed in relief. Jane and Thor stopped behind her, mesmerized by the sight before them. Perhaps they were nowhere, but at least they were on the same, polluted and green planet. Time certainly passed quickly, and Ase only realised then that she had been away for too many months. Fury would have killed her for this.

Jane took the liberty to lead and hijacked the red car. Out of loyalty—more like obedience—and instincts, Ase took out what's left of her phone and tried to boot it up. She always brought it in the small pouch of her belt whenever she went out, and she was forever grateful she did so. The small device amazingly went on despite the numerous cracks on its body. After providing a clearance password, which allowed her to tell S.H.I.E.L.D. she was alive and well, she began surfing her phone. It provided her with the latest information around the world, and latest news allowed from S.H.I.E.L.D. with her level of clearance.

Ase decided not to call Fury first, because he would certainly throw her new missions. "It appears Malekith hasn't arrived yet," Ase reported once she had digested all the situation.

"Great. One less thing to worry about," Jane said sarcastically as she started the car. Thor squirmed uncomfortably beside her and, after moments of hesitation, finally spoke.

"Who's Richard?" Thor asked.

Jane scoffed and looked at Thor in disbelief. "Really?"

Jane drove them masterfully through the streets, clearly knowing well her direction. They were fortunate that they had arrived in Jane's city and not the faraway Antarctica. After a few minutes of driving, Jane braked the car in front of an apartment and alighted. Ase had seen this place before, from the pictures sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. after the New Mexico incident. She ignored a soft ping from her phone as they entered the small flat.

A dark-haired woman wearing glasses was waiting for them and immediately stood up when she saw Jane. "Jane! You can't just leave like that," she protested, only to pause when she saw two armored warriors following her. "Whoa." she muttered. The man behind her also widened his eyes and took several steps back.

Thor innocently hanged his hammer on the coat hanger, receiving a shook of the head from Ase. "Hi," Ase said curtly to the girl.

The girl straightened her glasses and blinked. "I've seen him before, but I've certainly not seen her," the woman commented. Ase gave her a weak smile and extended her hand.

"Where are my manners?" Ase said, shaking her hand."I am Ase, from S.H.I.E.L.D. I… went on a little adventure to Asgard."

"Umm… I'm Darcy?" the woman replied as she glanced over her shoulder. "Jane, I thought we are no longer dealing with S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Jane did not reply and instead gaped at the sight of the old man sitting behind his laptop. "Erik?" Jane gasped. Erik grinned when he saw her and stood up.

"Jane! How wonderful!" Erik said as he embraced her. Ase grimaced when she saw that Erik was not wearing any pants of sorts.

"Where are your pants?" Jane asked as she creased her forehead.

"Oh, uh..." mumbled the only stranger in the room, which appeared no older than Darcy. "He says it helps him think."

Jane patted Erik's shoulder and offered him an encouraging look. "Okay. Well, I'm gonna need everything you got on this. All the work you've been doing on gravimetric anomalies, everything."

"Okay," Erik muttered slowly. He appeared to be in a constant state of confusion, Ase noticed. Perhaps the effects of Loki's scepter on him had not been that kind. Ase doubted Erik even remembered her from back when they had worked together. But she realised she was wrong, for Erik's eyes lit up when he saw her. "I know you! From the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, correct?"

Ase nodded and received Erik's hand. "Yes. I am glad you remembered me," she said.

"I remember only the strangest things during that time," Erik explained, then looked at Thor. "Your brother… Loki… Is not coming, is he?"

Thor's face darkened and he shook his head. "Loki is dead."

Erik was about to say a word, perhaps of gratitude that the God of Mischief was no longer wreaking havoc in the world, but then he saw Ase's grim expression and he stopped. He nodded without a word and staggered back to his laptop.

Ase stared at the scientists emptily before she took a seat and sank her head on her knees. It was so exhausting after the battle, not mentioning his death. It seemed so difficult to find a reason to move forward, now that everything in her world was in shambles. If she had not had the good moral conscience to protect innocent people, she would have become a psychopathic killer by now.

There was another ping from her phone. She finally acknowledged it and opened her phone. She stopped breathing when she saw the first message in the inbox.

 _Good to see you back. Report once this weird thing with gravitation stops._

 _And Coulson is still alive. Will inform you later. You missed hell much out there._

 _-Fury-_

"My god," Ase whispered. That was not possible. The agents back in the headquarters had confirmed that Coulson had bled to death. Hell, she had _seen_ his corpse in the mortuary. Was it magic or science which had brought him alive?

Now, a motivation gave strength to her feet, and Ase stood up. The battle was not over yet, and she would make sure the world still exists so that she could find Fury and learn what actually happened while she was away.

Ase approached Jane's desk and placed herself beside her. "Malekith is going to fire the Aether at a spot where all the nine worlds are connected," Jane explained.

"Amplifying the weapon's impact," Erik added. "With each additional world, the power will increase exponentially. The effect would be universal."

Thor interrupted, "Yes, well the alignment is only temporary. He must be in exactly at the right place at the right time."

Darcy, who somehow had procured several cups of coffee for their new guests, joined the conversation. "Well, how do we know where that is?"

Erik rose from his seat. "We follow directions," he said. He took a map from one of his shelves and, after sweeping all the objects from the table—including the coffee cups which crashed inevitably to the floor—he laid it out so everyone could see it. "This has happened before, thousands of years ago, and the ancients were there to see it. All the great constructions: the Mayas, the Chinese, the Egyptians. They made use of the gravitational effects of the Convergence. And they left us a map." Erik began drawing lines on the map, connecting each significant historical memorials to one specific point. "Stonehenge, Snowdon, the Great Orme. These are all coordinates taking us… here."

Erik pointed to Greenwich on the map. Ase looked at him questioningly.

Jane jumped in. "The walls between worlds will be almost non-existent. Physics is gonna go ballistic. Increase and decrease in gravity, spatial extrusions. The very fabric of reality is gonna be torn apart."

"We need to go there, fast," Ase remarked. Thor summoned his hammer and the weapon came to his hand. Ase briefly looked at the skies, for a moment seeing the realms aligning—as if she had received Heimdall's ability—and she frowned.

Ase swept her hair up, tying it quickly, and looked at the others. "Thor and I will go there first, just to be safe," she told them.

"Wait, how are you going to—"

Ase tilted her head. In a flash, she had disappeared from their sight. The rest looked at Thor, who smiled in return.

"Magic."

oOo

Ase landed softly on the ground, heaving a sigh of relief once she realised that she had not used Dark Magic and she won't be vomiting blood again. She had arrived conveniently in a park, where many people were busy doing their normal lives without knowing their ends might happen very soon. They looked at her, bemused by her choice of fashion, and she sighed.

Her skin shivered as she could feel the energies gathering just above her. Soon enough, Malekith and his forces would arrive her and kill anyone who stood in their way; including these innocent people. So, in the last minute, she conjured an illusion spell so that it appeared a giant beast was threatening these people. It brought out satisfying results, for the people immediately ran away from the square screaming like chickens. Ase did not smile on this. She had had enough to be smiling in this situation.

Thor arrived beside Ase, his face frowning in worry. "Jane is going to set up a device to help us fight Malekith's forces," he reported. "But not him, not with that power." He paused for a moment to think, before grabbing her shoulder. "I will fight Malekith."

Ase blinked and scowled in disapproval. "No, Thor. You cannot do this alone."

"There are people out there who needs as much protection from you," Thor reasoned with her firmly. "There is only the two of us here. You don't want anymore people to get killed, do you?"

Ase stared at him furiously. He was denying her the ability to fight for the innocents, to fight the man who had killed her mother and Loki. She would have argued, _we stand a better chance together,_ but she stopped there. If it were Loki, he would tell her to do the same. If it were her mother, she would order her more sternly.

"I understand," Ase finally said. "I'll try forcing these people out until Malekith arrives." She expanded the area of effect for her illusion and more people ran screaming for their lives after seeing nothing of reality. Thor chuckled at the sight, which lightened the atmosphere even only slightly.

"The Convergence is peaking," she warned Thor. The square now had been emptied, only Jane's team and the most stubborn of people remained. Ase cancelled off her illusion and took out her staff. The air trembled as Malekith's ship emerged from its hiding, a gargantuan black structure which entered Earth without its permission. It crashed the square as it docked to the ground, coming to a halt just several feet away from Ase. She gulped. She just wished she did not have to face such a big threat alone with Thor.

"You just need to buy time," Ase affirmed with Thor. "Once his forces are done, I will join you."

Thor nodded in assurance. The door to the ship opened with a huge creak, blasting Ase and Thor with a powerful gust of wind. Malekith came into form from the darkness of his ship, his minions following behind him with their unnerving masks. Above, a portal had materialized, providing a small window to another world—Ase assumed it to be the Dark Elves' realm, judging from the dark and dreary scenery seen.

Malekith saw Thor first. "You needn't come so far, Asgardian," Malekith remarked. "Death would've come to you soon enough."

"Death has come for your commander," Ase retorted sharply. "Time will wait until yours arrive."

At this Malekith's face grew even darker and more terrifying, but it didn't deter the two's conviction to defeat him. "Your universe was never meant to be," he continued. "Your world and your family will be extinguished."

 _No._ Ase moved quickly and charged at Malekith. He used the Aether to attack her, but Ase slid past him as swift as a snake and confronted his soldiers instead. Behind her, Thor evaded Malekith's attack just narrowly and hit him with Mjolnir. A blast of shockwave shook the ground, accidentally throwing Ase to the air.

The Dark Elves aimed their guns at her. Ase kicked her way out of their target and landed not far. It was their turn to run at her. She received them none gracefully with her staff, cracking their armours and masks with her brute force. She used her magic interchangeably, casting freezing frost on their feet before smashing their heads to the ground. Her attacks were fueled with rage and anger, each channeling her revengeful act towards the Dark Elves.

Ase stopped and recollected her breath after several of her opponents were down. She recalculated her moves. Malekith had brought enough forces to take one building down. And here she thought Odin's father had extinguished the Dark Elves once and for all. Again, an evidence that Asgardians were not quite effective in performing their tasks.

After reconsidering her plan, she placed her hand on the ground. _Same old trick,_ she mused before summoning ice to the ground, freezing every single of her enemies to the ground. Ase leapt to life and swung her staff at each soldier, blasting some of them away to the building. She winced as she realised she was destroying Greenwich property, but guessed she would not be sued since her identity had remained secret under S.H.I.E.L.D.

Then she saw people in the building, and found another reason to stop her barbaric attacks. She also saw Jane in it. "What are you doing?" Ase screamed. "Get out of here! It is too dangerous!" Now Malekith's soldiers switched their attentions from Ase to the remaining people. Ase cursed and ran towards the building, ignoring the blasts of guns aiming her feet.

"Jane! Get out of here—"

Ase gasped when the soldiers chasing her suddenly disappeared. She glanced at it, then at Jane. Jane cheered in victory with a device in hand. Somehow, that had transported her enemy out of Earth. It might lessen Malekith's forces, just little so she could evacuate all the people there. "Keep going! Just make sure you don't aim at me—"

She heard a loud pound of Thor's hammer and instinctively whirled around. Ase stopped on her tracks and put her hands forward. Desperately she summoned a wall of force field. The blast from Thor's attack shook the building, but with her protection it did not shatter the glass or anyone inside it. She glared at the people inside, who were now peering downwards.

" _Get out,"_ she warned sharply. Instantly the people obeyed her words and scrambled out of their way. Ase returned to her own fight and found that she had been circled be her enemies. She drew a deep breath and kicked the ground hard, blasting her enemies way in all directions. Afar, Thor flew towards Malekith, hurling him towards a car, only to disappear into thin air. Ase just hoped they had not been transported somewhere dangerous.

As if fate was playing with her, her phone rang.

 _Out of all times?_ Ase grumbled, but decided to pick it up anyways. As she continued to occupy her enemies, she answered her call, which turned out to be from Fury.

" _Agent Inertia, how in the hell are you back, and why Greenwich?"_ Fury asked accusingly. He must have known her presence there from the facial recognition system ran across the globe, and the fact that there was an Asgardian fighting an alien in Greenwich. What were the odds?

"This is a very bad time to be talking like this, Fury," Ase groaned. She ducked just in time to dodge a blade. Furiously, she froze the enemy to his feet, and smashed him into pieces. "If you have nothing important besides saying hello, I'll shut the phone."

 _"Whoa, calm down. The government has sent several planes to back up and destroy the alien ship,"_ he explained hastily. Ase stopped and tried to reconsider what he had said. It was stupid to send aerial vehicles in this gravitational state. The Convergence would render gravitations zero at any point of time and open portals here and there. Those men could be transported somewhere else at any moment.

Before Ase could tell Fury to stop those planes, however, they had arrived first. A sharp roaring sound passed above her, whizzing away at high speeds towards Malekith's ship. She turned off her phone and, whilst dodging the soldiers' attacks, tried to warn the pilots not to come close. But they did not see her tiny figure and continued to march forward, only to be sucked by the sheer gravitational force from another realm.

"I'll call you back later," Ase quickly muttered and switched off her phone.

"Ase!" Jane shouted. Ase ducked from another attack before she acknowledged the woman's voice. "Everyone has been evacuated, I think! You can do anything you want now?!"

At first tried to comprehend Jane's words while constantly blocking her enemies' attacks. But then it occurred to her what Jane meant, after she had seen how Ase fought. Ase nodded and indicated her to run away as well. Without further instructions, Jane took Erik's hand and ran away for her lives. She also heard the woman screaming at Darcy and Ian to run.

Ase did not know the extent of her powers on a greater scale during the Convergence, but she could try it. She took several steps back and shifted her focus to herself. Her enemies did not spare her a moment to breath and charged at her. Ase took a deeper breath, tapping the dimensional energy from Jotunheim, before she released the accumulated power simultaneously. Instantly, the entire square was covered in ice, the buildings encased in frost like a carved ice sculpture. Her breath took form as smoke in the air, and the soldiers were rendered immobile with their frozen states. Not a second later, they all broke apart into blocks of matter.

Curiously, Ase blinked and admired her own strength at this point of time. The Convergence did give her impressive capabilities, for the feat did not even harm her body despite the sheer amount of energy channeled through her. _The Convergence is nearing its peak,_ Ase thought anxiously.

 _Now only Malekith is left._

As if answering her call, Malekith emerged from another dimension and greeted her with a dark scowl. Thor was not with him. Ase could only assume Thor had been transported to another location, but again fate was not too discerning with them. Ase straightened her back and clenched her fists.

"Stand back, woman," Malekith warned. "You would want this to be easy."

Ase frowned and stepped forward slowly. "There has never been something easy for me, and will never be."

Her words marked the start of their battle. Malekith called forth the Aether towards her. She lifted her staff and blocked it with her powers. She braced against it for a long moment before she heard a discouraging crack from her staff. The weapon began to split open from the Aether's force. Ase widened her eyes. Before she could withdrew it, the staff had given in, and was torn apart into pieces with an indescribable light. Ase staggered back and gaped at the raw strength of the Aether.

Malekith proceeded further and blasted her away to the building. She failed to block this and was sent crashing past the pillars. Groaning, she pulled herself up once more, but Malekith had ignored her as a danger and focused on his true and original purpose as the Convergence reached its peak. The realms aligned themselves above him, completely vulnerable to his machinations.

She could not stop the power of an Infinity Stone, but she could slow him down until the peak of the Convergence passes. Ase forced her way through the storm of Aether dust, the promise to survive pushing her forward. The Aether was climbing up Malekith's ship, pursuing the aligning realms. They had only little time left.

When she got a clear view and space of which the Aether was travelling, she stopped. At first she hesitated, fearing a consequence worse than the Aether if she executed the crazy plan she had in mind.

 _But during the Convergence, not only Malekith gains power._

Ase put forth her hands and tensed her muscles. The Aether continued to fly upwards. Ase focused more desperately.

Then, as if a miracle, the Aether could not proceed further. An invisible barrier had put itself between the portals and the Aether, enclosing both Malekith and his ultimate weapon in a powerful dome. The Aether pounded against her barrier, but Ase did not relent and instead tried to push it down back to Earth.

Malekith instantly turned towards her furiously. He tried to assault her with the Aether, but found his attempts useless. It dawned upon him that he should have killed the woman first.

Ase realised as well that some of the Aether remained outside the barrier. The red dusts began to target her, scraping her skin and trying to seep into her body. Ase exerted more energy and shielded her body, but found it pressuring her inner organs. Apparently, the Convergence did not change the laws of magic that much.

"Ase!" Thor called. His voice was distorted amidst the ongoing chaos, but enough to ignite a new hope for her. Ase glanced over her shoulder, squinting her eyes, and saw him flying towards her. He was carrying a device which she noticed Jane had just used to transport the Dark Elves out of vicinity.

"Any idea how to defeat him?" Ase demanded. Her organs were burning and she could feel this. She sincerely prayed her had a legitimate plan. Thor showed the device to her, and she tried to look at him questioningly under the dire circumstance.

"We can dismember his body with this device," Thor shouted. "But I need to get inside!"

Ase nodded hastily. "You need to go fast!" Once she saw Thor was ready, Ase flicked one of her fingers and opened a small gap for him. Thor instantly rushed inside and pierced through the vicious storm. Ase watched him finally confront Malekith. She noticed too her body was reaching its limit.

 _Please hurry,_ she pleaded internally. Thor listened and he began his last confrontation with Malekith. He used Jane's device to transport Malekith's arms out of Midgard and to another realm. Malekith was horrified by this plan. Thor continued and began moving out Malekith's body bit by bit. Before Malekith could rebel further, Thor threw the last of Jane's device and Malekith wholly disappeared out of sight.

In that same second, the Aether vanished with him. Ase felt as if a mountain had been lifted off her shoulders and she sacked to the ground. Her nose was bleeding, she noticed, but nothing worse inflicted her body other than exhaustion. Thor lied on the ground, breathing heavily, his eyes watching the realms missing the alignment and parting ways once more. The Convergence was ending.

Ase shuddered when the ground trembled. She glanced up to see Malekith's ship descending towards them. She struggled to stand up to evade its point of impact, but realised Thor did not join her. Jane screamed for Thor and Ase too scrambled towards him. Ase tried to stop the ship, but she was not fast nor prepared enough.

Jane embraced Thor and tried to protect him with her back. Ase instinctively put herself above them and braced for the crash. One second, another, and the third, she heard nothing. With heart beating fast, Ase lifted her head and stared at what had happened. The ship had disappeared from existence. Erik was smiling, holding the controlled for Jane's device. She understood what occurred.

"Everybody okay?" Erik asked as he staggered towards them.

"Thank you," Ase said and checked Thor's vitals. Apparently, he had no severe injuries—perhaps two or three broken ribs, but otherwise he was fine. Jane smiled in relief and embraced Thor, waking him up in the process. Ase sighed and watched the two lovers reuniting in a happier circumstance. They indeed had been through much just in a short time.

The Convergence slowly passed by. There was no more retaliation from Malekith or the Aether. The Earth was once more saved from disastrous calamity. Ase whispered words of gratitude to anyone who had helped them, and prayed Earth would be undisturbed long enough.

Solemnly, as she enjoyed the sight of Thor and Jane comforting each other, she reflected on her own self. Before her was something perhaps she could no longer obtain. No one was left for her to connect with. Once again she was aimless, questioning her ways in the world. Where would she go now? Should she return to her father and experience the same events, risking him his life once more?

Ase decided that she would postpone that thought. For now, she would answer Fury's call properly. Then, she would think of her next steps.


	25. 0214: Da Capo

After what Ase had experienced the past week, she felt she had nothing more to fear. Not even Odin's possible punishment, which she would gladly receive under the excuse that they had committed treason to save the world. Of course, he would not miss out the fact that she had illegally travelled to Jotunheim using Dark Magic, and Ase admitted she deserved the blame. She could have protected her mother if she had remained in Asgard.

Yet, past is past. She must move on, as much as it hurt her.

It surprised her dearly to the point of confusion when, out of no apparent reason, Odin did not proceed with her punishment first and instead sent her to Heimdall's observatory. The Watcher of Worlds was obviously not amused by her repeatedly tricking him using magic, but knowing the unexpected turn of events with her mother, he chose to stay silent and continued his duty.

Heimdall told her that as a compensation for her treason, she must escort some guests from other realms. Ase accepted this without objections, for at least she could leave Asgard with a clearer name.

She had promptly called Fury after the battle with Malekith and he fed her with the latest bit of detail he had promised. For once, she regretted not being in S.H.I.E.L.D. when things got wrong. Coulson had been revived from the dead through means Fury could not elaborate, but Ase deduced they were inhumane. She also trusted that the results caused Coulson a great deal of harm in any way or the other. Without doubt, she needed to confirm this with the man himself. It was unfortunate she could not contact him for the moment, for he was busying himself with another assignment.

Next, Fury told her about Loki's Sceptre. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been researching it for several months, much to Ase's dismay, in a secret facility he boasted was entirely 'secure' and 'guarded'. But they unfortunately and expectedly lost it to whom they presume as HYDRA. Her first mission once she returned to Earth would be to track down the scepter. Fury also pressured her to finish her business in only a day in Asgard. Her holiday, he stressed, was long overdue.

So there she was, in Heimdall's observatory, ready in her normal Earth clothings—minus her staff—waiting to accomplish her last favour in Asgard. It seemed very strange to be in her jacket and shirt once more after wearing armour for several months.

"You didn't tell me who I'm escorting today," Ase said to Heimdall.

"It is not in the King's order to tell you," Heimdall replied. Ase raised a curious brow and watched as the Bifrost was summoned and the visitors arrived. She gasped and staggered back when she saw who it was: a frost giant without a leg and an arm.

"Father?" The word escaped her mouth and Heimdall was visibly shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Birger chuckled and embraced his daughter. Behind him were several Jotuns whom she noticed were in Birger's village. "The Convergence has united the Nine Realms, literally," he explained. "Odin saw it fit that we reassess our peace treaty. I rather admire how my people chose me as their representatives."

Ase smiled, grateful that she was given the chance to meet her father once more, only to frown afterwards. "Father, I haven't told you about mother."

Birger placed his finger on her mouth and urged her to stop, sadness marking his gaze. "I have known. I grief for her and I am sure you too. But her soul has passed to the stars. She is in a better place now."

Ase's heart sank, realizing how strong her father's love with her mother was. She nodded solemnly before escorting them out of the observatory and into the city. The people looked at the Jotuns warily, but Birger withstood their glares with a soft smile and continued on. Her father was truly a rare individual among the frost giants. He deserved the role as Jotunheim's ambassador.

They arrived at Odin's hall. The king was waiting with Thor by his side. Thor smiled at her encouragingly. From his face she could discern that he had not been punished by Odin as well.

"Welcome, Birger of Jotunheim," Odin greeted and came down from his throne. He bowed to Birger, a gesture which bemused Ase, and Birger did the same. There was a sense of familiarity between them, albeit Ase was sure they had not met before.

"Thank you, for inviting Jotunheim to your alliance," Birger began. "And forgive our hostility over the past centuries."

"And they are forgiven," Odin said kindly. Ase tilted her head, noticing that the king had somehow changed. He had lost his wife and it must have affected him dearly, but last time she saw him he was revengeful and blind with grief. Now he seemed clear and forward-looking. Perhaps he had seen the better of things again. Odin noticed her studying him and she immediately looked down at the floor.

"I am afraid our discussion must come slightly later at night. I have other important matters to discuss," Odin told his guests.

"Of course," Birger replied humbly. "We will wait as necessary." Birger glanced at Ase and gave her a meaningful look. Perhaps he would like to talk to her later. Ase nodded in assurance and saw him being escorted out of the hall. Odin turned to the woman and cleared his throat.

"I see you must be leaving soon, so I will make this quick," Odin declared. "Your treason with Thor may have been forgiven, but I have not clarified your trickery to slip to Jotunheim, in which you use Dark Magic to violate our rules even though you are well protected while you are here."

Ase did not look down and stared at him bravely. She was no longer afraid.

After a long pause, Odin continued. "But, considering the sacrifices you've made when you are under us, I have decided to forgive you."

"Thank you," Ase replied calmly.

"No, thank you," Odin said as he approached her. She felt a sense of familiarity when he looked upon her. "Our ideology forced you out of your home and yet you've done nothing but to help us. For that, I owe you my thanks."

Odin then called one of the guards and he procured him a silver staff, just like her old one, but with enchantments carved across it. Ase shivered when she saw the intricate craftsmanship poured into it. "This is a token of good will," he said as he gave it to her. She received it honourably, feeling the extremely light weapon on her fingers. This was not human crafted, she reminded herself. This perhaps equaled Mjolnir in durability.

"Made by the Dwarves but never used. Only the strongest and worthiest sorcerers can wield it," Odin explained. "And you are worthy. You are worthy as an ally and friend of Asgard and the Nine Realms. If you wish to return, then we will welcome you with open arms."

"Thank you," Ase said once again. She hesitated for a moment, a sudden thought flashed across her mind. A brief thought, but strong enough to urge her to speak. "If I may, I want to speak about Loki."

Odin opened his mouth, but then closed it. He nodded wordlessly and signaled her to proceed. Ase straightened her back and looked him in the eye. "I think that he was still redeemable, Your Majesty. Despite his past, cruel actions, I've seen that he still had a good moral conscience. He sacrificed himself for me, for the entire universe." Ase stopped and swallowed hard, the painful truth began prickling her heart again. "I wish you forgive him. I wish you see deeper than what meets the eye, not only him but when you are ruling others. I am sure that way Asgard will stand stronger against threats even more powerful than Malekith."

Ase stopped abruptly and observed the king. He was taken aback by her frankness and her directness. If she was his subject, she would have been reprimanded immediately, but as had been said, she was Asgard's _friend._ It was the role of a friend to correct the wrongs of another.

After a while, Odin scoffed and nodded minutely. "A good advice. Well-said," Odin said slowly. Thor gave her another smile, this time out of pride and confidence. Thor must have had said the same about Loki as well. He deserved this. She had seen him redeem himself, even not under direr circumstances.

And she had loved him. This was the least she could do for him.

"Farewell, Ase," Odin said. "I will see you on another day."

"If Asgard is in dire need of help, then I will surely come," Ase assured him. She bowed to him deeply, still questioning the conversation she had and the nerve she possessed when addressing the protector of realms. She believed it was only her instincts playing, and bid Odin farewell once and for all.

oOo

"I am sorry to leave you so quickly," Ase said to Birger as she walked to Heimdall's observatory. "I would love to know you better if it weren't for the pressing assignment I have."

"Do not worry," Birger assured her. "I would be a wrong father I barred you from choosing your path."

Ase smiled weakly. "What will you do now? After peace has been retained across the Nine Realms?"

Birger raised his brows and pondered deeply. He looked like a sage more than a leader when he did so. "I am rebuilding Jotunheim, little by little," Birger explained. "It will take time to learn how not to be a savage all the time and rely on logic and common sense, but I will try. We will try." He seemed hopeful and never pessimistic. She wondered if she inherited any of that good quality of her father. On second thought, she did now, even just a speck of it.

"If you need help, you know you can call me," Ase told him. Birger chuckled and nodded, pulling her into another embrace. Ase relished every moment she spent doing it. She would not let this go anymore, after losing so much. She felt her mother's touch when she hugged him, her stern and firm voice when calling her. Ase twitched faintly before she parted from her father.

"We will meet again," Ase promised him. Birger nodded and lifted a hand at her. Heimdall called upon the Bifrost and a surge of light began to engulf her. She studied her surroundings momentarily, knowing that it might be a long time before she could return to Asgard again. But she knew she would return. She promised to do it.

Her figure finally dissipated from Birger's eyes, leaving nothing but traces of her body's energy. Birger's face sank in sadness, but knew it was the best for her. He had been lonely, but at the very least he knew he had another family left.

Just as Birger turned around, he saw Odin waiting there for him. Out of respect the Jotun bowed to the king, but he was prevented from doing so. Birger flinched when Odin himself touched his arm and forced him to lift his face.

"I thought I could see her go, but alas," Odin said in disdain. "She's a good woman. She's Loki's only companion when he was in prison, I was told."

Birger tilted his head and quirked a smile. "Were you? Or is this the man speaking for himself?"

'Odin' twitched his head, but remained passively observant. Birger's smile grew sharper and he took a step forward. His gaze was an intelligent one, more towards the cunning end. "If you are wondering how I know, child, is that one knows when it is his kin. There is nothing but cold surrounding you."

'Odin' shivered, but remained firm to his ground. "Are you threatening me?" he asked. Birger chuckled and shook his head. This calm demeanour unsettled him further. This man was more than what meets the eye.

'No, child. I am merely questioning your intentions," Birger said softly, his tone denying his ominous expression. "Why are you deceiving all of your allies? Why are you deceiving Thor, Asgard, and my _daughter?"_ Birger made sure the last mentioned was stressed. He did not want his daughter to be meddled with.

His opponent pondered for a long time. Then he spoke surely. "I want to make amends," he said. "I've done too much wrong." He then lowered his voice so Heimdall could not hear him.

"I loved Ase too much. I do not want to pain her with my past."

Birger lifted his chin and nodded, the dark visage disappearing from his face. "I am glad that you want nothing but good for my daughter," Birger told him. "But be careful not to do the same mistake as mine."

To this, Loki could only nod.

oOo

After going incognito for several months, Fury finally see this goddamn woman. And he could not describe it, but she was different. Different in a strange way. Her appearance was the same, her mannerisms were the same, her attitude and her rebellious way of speech towards him were still there. Yet, Fury knew Ase had experienced something in Asgard which had changed the way she looked at him. Such transformation, a deeper, inner transformation, always mesmerized Fury.

"Welcome back," he greeted and shook her hand. He flinched when he felt her colder skin. "Have enough of your holidays?"

"Sure do," Ase replied curtly. Fury studied her for a moment, wondering if she was a copycat or something, but assured himself that she wasn't. He cleared his throat and handed her a confidential file. Ase opened it swiftly and swallowed its contents.

"You are going to track down the scepter at whatever cost," Fury instructed her. "We last found it in Europe, but lost it from the radar. We, however, assume it is still around that area. We need a field agent to search for it, especially since you have… _unique_ abilities after coming back from Asgard."

"I see what you mean there. It will be done," Ase mumbled without lifting her eyes from the papers. She saw that she was being assigned several agents later to help her, which she did not mind considering Europe was such a large place to search for one scepter. She frowned deeply and glared at Fury. "There is something I haven't told you, about the stone in the scepter, the Tesseract, and the object responsible for the Greenwich incident."

Fury creased her brows and stepped closer. Ase noticed he was being wary even in the base. This she had never seen before from the confident man. "There are six of these objects. They are called Infinity Stones," Ase whispered to him in her softest voice. Fury widened his eye and stared at her in disbelief. Ase sighed in dismay and closed her file.

"I trust you have your methods in finding them," Ase said to Fury. "But let me remind you, that these objects are not to be meddled with by humans. I need to go on another holiday to Europe because you did."

Fury chuckled in amusement. Perhaps she had not changed too much in a span of one year after all. Ase stepped back and bid him goodbye. Fury had not told her about his wariness yet, not because he did not trust the woman, but because he wanted to observe the enemy's moves first. He did not want to alert any spies that he knew of their plans. And Ase, he was sure, must have caught his slightly uneasy state. Her intelligence should have warned her of any impending danger quickly.

Little did he know that this would be the last time he saw her.


	26. 0301: Winter is Coming

**PART 3: DISCOVERY**

 _"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore"_

 _-Andre Gide-_

 **Bulgaria, 2014**

The snow had never been comforting. Far beyond her was a vast white expanse of a forest. There were no sign of human being around her, just endless pines and misty morning fog. The cold air would be stinging the backs of ordinary people, but not Ase's. The temperature was almost welcoming, reminding her of Birger's cozy home. It amused her how the other five agents with her did not feel the same. They had not questioned her outstanding resistance to cold temperatures, which was evident from how she had worn only her thin jacket. This was one of the many questions that hovered over their heads since they had started the hunt for Loki's scepter last year.

Unfortunately, however, the hunt had so far not been successful.

Ase and her team of agents had tracked the scepter across Europe, relying more on human intelligence than computer technology. The scepter had not emitted gamma radiation like the Tesseract, which made espionage their prime source of information. It was discouraging, however, to find that HYDRA was in the actual possession of the scepter.

One of the agents beckoned her to come closer. Ase trudged wordlessly in the snow, constantly alert of her surroundings. There had been no resistance from HYDRA so far, only them playing cats and mice. They did not attack them, and they could not find them either. She sighed whenever they came to another dead end. She hoped they would get their enemies this time.

"We noticed several heat signatures just now," the agent reported. "Inside one of the caves. There." The agent pointed towards the northeast, to a small opening covered by dense shrubs. "Must be their hideout."

"How many?" Ase asked again. The agent hastily reassessed his observations and looked at her with conviction.

"Only ten. We can take them," he said surely. Ase nodded and touched her earpiece.

"You hear that people?" Ase said to the others. "I will take the lead. All of you cover for me. Leave one alive." Ase gazed at her comrades, gesturing them to move forward slowly. If they discovered them like this, their enemies would have expected them as well. Although they were only five, her abilities would turn the tables effectively.

They continued to shuffle in between the trees. Silence reigned over them, enveloping invisible fear which gripped each of the agents. They had not been too experienced, she had noted before she started the mission. But it was better than having no agents supporting her blind search at all.

 _I must make this confrontation without casualties from our side,_ Ase promised herself.

Then there was a loud crumpling sound behind her. Ase held out her hand, warning her agents not to move from their positions, but the sound continued. She whirled around just too late to see a syringe being plunged to her neck. One of the agents gazed back at her. She glanced around, demanding explanations, but none moved from their positions—just like what she had instructed.

They were planning this all along. They were targeting her. Ase's skin shivered as whatever he had injected began entering her system. They might want to kill her or merely drug her. There must be a reason for their actions. Had she committed a crime? Were they doing a secret mission?

 _Traitors._

The thought stuck to her mind for a long moment. She didn't want to draw conclusions, or kill these men needlessly. But she realised she was correct when the HYDRA agents mentioned emerged from their caves. They approached her calmly, undisturbed by the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Ase's heart began to race. Her instincts kicked in and she crouched to the forest ground. These enemies were trying to subdue her cunningly, but they had forgotten they were playing in _her domain._ Ase's eyes blurred into scarlet orbs and she heaved. With a powerful gust of wind, frost crept from her hands and around her, spreading like flood crashing the fields. In an instant, her adversaries were turned to frozen statues, still living but dying quickly from frostbite.

Desperately, Ase tried to gather her breaths, realizing that whatever substance was injected was incapable of killing her with her Asgardian body—there was too little encounter with Asgardians to understood their physiology and weaknesses completely. _They must have inserted a sleeping drug,_ Ase realised, sensing it taking effect slowly but surely. _I must get out of here._

The drug was disturbing her magic flow, but she could still think. Painstakingly, she performed a teleportation spell, and found herself immediately in the warehouse where they had camped before the mission's execution. She was eternally grateful that no one was there, leaving her with only her laptop. Ase scrambled to it and hastily contacted Fury. Once, twice, he did not reply her call. Ase fidgeted and switched to her phone. It received the same treatment.

Fury was a busy man, but he had never denied her phone call. Ase's anxiety worsened when she found out she could not contact Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, or any of the S.H.I.E.L.D. associates she trusted. A horrifying realization came to her.

 _S.H.I.E.L.D. has been overthrown. HYDRA is behind it._

Ase swallowed the situation for a moment, then threw her phone away. They were hunting her, as did the others. She did not know what means they had against her magical powers, but numbers always wins, she reckoned. Ase swayed slightly, feeling her consciousness being threatened for a moment, then in panic transported herself far from the city. She landed on a forest, but certainly not the forest before.

 _I need to get somewhere safe,_ Ase thought as she paced farther. She could not teleport herself anymore with her drowsiness, and she hoped drowsiness would remain the side effects of the drug. She could go to Tony, but it would threaten his safety. It was the same for Banner.

Ase sighed in frustration and forcefully accepted her fate. She was a runaway now.

oOo

 **Paris, 2015**

Clint had never thought he would find Paris so imposing. Beyond the beautiful sceneries and the tourists mingling here and there, there were the dark alleys where the criminals and black market merchants settled and watched the world revolve around its centre. It was here that the runaways lived as well, at least temporarily. But the person he was searching for was not any of them, at least not anymore.

Warily he glanced around, for he couldn't help but feel apprehensive in the eerie silence. Several months before, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been fully usurped by HYDRA agents. He had been on a mission when his own teammate attacked him. Fortunately, he had managed to escape their grasp and travel around America for a time. He could not contact any of his teammates safely, and he presumed Steve was doing his part in battling the main forces of HYDRA.

Tony finally contacted him and told him that he was reassembling the Avengers just a week ago. It was time for them to launch a counterattack towards HYDRA for causing all the problems so far. So far all of them had gathered together, with one exception.

He had never known this before, but Ase was quite a stealth operative. Tony had a difficult time finding her, because she had cut off all mobile and digital communications for several months. Barton even presumed she had resorted to walking through forests just to evade surveillance cameras.

Eventually, Tony identified her in Paris. It was quite an abrupt carelessness she made, but Clint figured out she did so in purpose. He had not met her for more than a year, and he wondered what kind of misfits she had had in Asgard.

Clint arrived of a small, deserted warehouse. He drew his weapon, just in case Tony's intel proved to be wrong and he found a HYDRA agent instead. Clint swallowed nervously before he kicked the door open. "Ase?" he called out.

Suddenly, someone pounded against his head hard. Clint instinctively elbowed his assaulter in the stomach. He heard a feminine grunt, but was not able to turn his head when a blade was held against his neck. Clint widened his eyes as his opponent drew the dagger closer.

"Don't move," she whispered. Clint glanced over his shoulders and was overjoyed when he saw Ase's face.

"Ase, it's me. Clint," Clint told her slowly. "I come for you. Tony is reassembling all the Avengers."

Upon hearing his words, however, her blade grew closer. "How do I know if you are Clint, or just a person wearing his face?" Ase demanded sharply, her voice filled with hostility.

"You mean mask?" Clint asked. His voice broke in a soft laughter. He could not help but find the idea amusing. "Where do you think we are? A freaking Mission Impossible movie?" When he said that out aloud, he cackled further. As a result of the foolish display of his humour, Ase lowered her blade and sighed. There was no one with this low level of humour other than her bird friend.

Without speaking, Ase released him and closed the door. Clint finally got a good glimpse of her, and he was not amused anymore. First thing he noticed was her hair. It was cut, cropped short just below her chin, with its edges dyed black, suggesting she had coloured her hair to remain unidentifiable. Then the skin under her eyes, which was the same colour as the tiniest of her hair. She had gone far lengths to hide herself, he was sure.

"Can't help it," Ase explained as she sheathed her dagger back. Where did she get her dagger from? "HYDRA has been chasing me all around Europe since _our_ agents turned against me when I was tracking Loki's scepter."

"Didn't we all?" Clint scoffed. Ase's face darkened and he realised he had triggered her. "Wait, how many agents came after you?"

Ase packed up her things, which consisted of her laptop and some food and drinks. "First time? Ten, at the same time. The number continued persistently. 50, I believe."

Clint gulped and stared at her in horror. He had only been hunted by several agents, and after he had finished them, he was not bothered directly. But judging from how many HYDRA personnel were dispensed to kill Ase, she must have been a real threat to HYDRA's plans. It was increasingly terrifying to realise that all of them had been killed instead.

"What did you exactly learn when you were away?" Clint asked.

Ase shrugged her shoulders and threw him something. It was a plastic bag full of instant coffee packs and latte cans. Clint raised brows.

"Help me throw that later," Ase said as she opened the door. Seeing Clint still stood bemused, Ase beckoned him to come. "Come on. What are we waiting for?"

Clint grinned and led Ase away from the dilapidated warehouse, ending her exile once and for all.

oOo

 **Stark Tower, New York**

Tony Stark's corporate building was nothing but impressive. Climbing up to the skies, its massive façade and countless windows hid hundreds of advanced technologies and the secrets of its inhabitants. Ase and Clint arrived at the reception lobby, looking like idiots among the finely dressed and neatly suited employees. It was fortunate that Ase had changed her dirty attire to a new one, or else the shame would kill her.

They entered a lift, crowded by too many people, and squeezed themselves in. Somehow, they took their attentions to her. Ase ignored them and endured the painstaking ride to the top floor. By this time none had accompanied them in the lift, which was a comforting experience.

When the lift opened, they were immediately greeted by the sight of the Avengers. All of them were there, her old friends. Steve had not changed, though his uniform did, but his visage hid a dark experience. Natasha too, still looked as fierce and menacing as before. Bruce appeared older, but she could see less signs of stress wrinkled on his face. Then there was Tony, always wearing that smug expression, always the billionaire man.

Ase sank in nostalgia when she saw Thor. He smiled at her sincerely, but now it pained her to see him.

"Welcome back," Tony said once they entered the room.

"Nice haircut," Natasha commented. "Glad you're still alive." Natasha smiled and hugged Ase briefly, patting her on the back. There were so many questions in Ase's mind. Where had they been? What had they been doing?

"What happened?" was the question she decided to ask first, to Natasha and to Steve. Steve tensed and remained silent, so Natasha took the liberty to explain.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated by HYDRA deep into its core," Natasha told her. "The higher-ups even. We lost it, but not without a fight. We also destroyed several Helicarriers, and Fury is dead. Or at least he appears so." Ase raised her brows, not knowing what to expect from the man.

"Now there is no S.H.I.E.L.D." Natasha glanced at Steve hesitantly, asking him a telepathic question. Steve nodded reluctantly and looked away. Natasha sighed and took leaned against the wall. "We also found out that Bucky, Steve's former deceased friend, was used by HYDRA as another supersoldier. They experimented him to become the Winter Soldier."

All the information almost overwhelmed Ase, but she managed a nod. "Where is he now?" she asked further. Steve shrugged her head as an answer. "So it appears we have no backing from S.H.I.E.L.D. now."

"We don't, but I am backing us up. And we are still operating," corrected Tony. He tapped his pad and opened up a hologram. Ase stepped closer to the display and studied the map projected on it. There were several areas marked, including Sudan. "We've been attacking various HYDRA bases around the world after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. So far they've been successful, but we've found nothing of significance in their bases."

Ase's eyes lit up indescribably. She snatched her rucksack and fumbled with its contents. She took out a thumb drive and inserted into the USB port embedded on Tony's computer. A burst of information emerged on the hologram as JARVIS filtered out the data inside the drive.

"What are all these?" Bruce asked as he straightened his glasses.

"These, are all my research of the Mind Stone," Ase explained. Tony closed in and began swiping through the loads of information. "I didn't just sit around and wait for HYDRA to come at me. I tried to continue my original mission, to find the Mind Stone." Ase stepped in and moved her hands across the hologram.

"Did you find it?" asked Thor enthusiastically.

"I did," Ase replied and looked at them all. She returned to the holographic map and zoomed in Europe. "It's here. In Sokovia." Ase pointed out at a location in the remote country. "There is a research facility here. People said things have 'gone awry' since a research began a year ago."

Seeing her friends' doubtful stare, Ase continued, "I've been there. I sensed it, the Mind Stone. It must be there."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Tony intervened. "You said you _sensed it._ How does that even work?"

Ase searched for ways to describe it. Her experience in Asgard was nothing short of mythical, even _magical._ How could she explain this to two scientists, who believed nothing but logical explanations? But another more important thought came to her, which she doubted Fury had divulged to them. "First of all, you need to know about the Infinity Stones." Ase flicked her fingers on the hologram and a projection of six stones displayed itself to the others. "The Tesseract, the stone on Loki's Sceptre, and the reddish dust which appeared back in Greenwich. They are all part of a six, formed from the singularities of universe's creation."

"There are six of them?" Clint exclaimed. Ase nodded and sighed as well. "Where are the others?"

"Hopefully not on Earth," Steve suggested. Ase looked at him discouragingly. Earth was an anomaly, a place where somehow so much chaos occurred.

"The Tesseract is in Asgard and the Aether is with the Collector," Thor assured them. Tony looked at Ase and mouthed _"Who's the Collector?"_

"They will protect the stones. These stones also radiate energies that my kind can sense," Ase continued. She cleared her throat and reluctantly added. "Sorcerers. Magicians, if you will." This rendered Bruce more confused than before causing Tony to scoff in amusement.

"Should I demonstrate it so you would believe me?" Ase asked, her right hand glowing red. Tony staggered back and Bruce held out his hand, trying to stop her.

"No, please," Bruce pleaded. "We don't want fire in here." All of them laughed and Ase joined them. It felt too good to be reunited with her friends again. They had not changed much since she last saw them; still the goofy and solemn bunch of folks. Beside her, Clint offered a can of coffee. Ase thanked him and looked at the drink pensively. She had not told him of Coulson yet. She wanted to, but Fury's last orders were to keep silent about the matter and believe that Coulson would be better off alone with his new team. She believed it.

She had not told anyone about Loki either. Rather, she _would not_ do such a thing. She was not ashamed of her feelings. It was better, she thought, that she kept everything a secret. At least, until she deemed it was proper to announce it; if it was worth announcing at all.

Tony clapped his hand and shifted the hologram to display the area Ase had pinpointed out. "Good then. We now have a magician and our confirmed target. Coincidentally, we wanted to attack the place before you mentioned it too." Tony tapped his pad and the scenery changed entirely. Their eyes caught numerous heat signatures on the map, and a detailed plan of the research facility. Ase stood impressed, realizing he had researched the place thoroughly as well.

"So what's the plan?" Natasha asked.

"Simple," Steve answered. "We go to their doors, and knock them hard."

oOo

Ase yawned pensively and played with her staff. The flight to Sokovia was longer than expected, or seemingly like so. They did not rest after her arrival and proceeded with their plans to capture the HYDRA base there. She did not mention it, but she had not been asleep for almost a week. Boredom was only the minor cause of her sleepiness. But she could not afford to rest now—she could do that after she accomplished this mission.

Natasha and Clint were piloting the ship, whilst Tony was trying to explain to Steve the main plot of Mission Impossible. Bruce merely observed how exasperated Tony was when Steve pointed out the flaws in Ethan Hunt's approach to situation.

Thor sat across her, unusually calm and collected. "So," Ase began, her voice slurring due to her exhaustion. "How is Asgard?"

She waited for a long moment, then Thor started with a sigh. "It is in good shape, I believe. Father has started rebuilding Asgard and its ties with the other realms, though I see that his methods are unorthodox. So unlike him. I think it's because of his grief over mother's death."

Ase's suspicions towards Odin resurfaced once more. She sensed something wrong with him before she left, though she could not discern what it was. Perhaps, as Thor had said, it was only lingering grief, but Ase figured out there must be another reason. "Has relations with Jotunheim been good?"

Thor nodded optimistically and smiled. "Jotunheim is now a close friend of Asgard. In turn, Asgard has sent sorcerers to help rebuild the communities there." Ase listened to him expectantly, and Thor realised what she was waiting to find. "Your father is a good leader. He is certainly not Laufey."

Ase sighed in relief. Even though her father had told her not to worry over his wellbeing, she had been keeping him in her mind for months now. It was a reassurance that her father was doing well. Even though perhaps she sensed she belonged on Earth most, she could not deny that she cherished Asgard and Jotunheim as well.

"We are reaching Sokovia," Clint reported. "Get ready to alight." The ship was descending, landing on a small patch in a forest, where the snow covered the floor. Ase could see the HYDRA research facility not far and she could sense the Mind Stone there, emanating energy. Once the ship settled on the ground, its passengers began moving about.

"Ase," Thor said, suddenly his expression darkening, halting Ase's footsteps. "You do remember that we didn't find Loki's body, don't you?"

Ase froze to the ground and turned to look at him. It was true that Loki's body was gone when they tried to search for it after the Greenwich battle. She had assumed the sand storm had buried it, or any other catastrophic weather event had blown it away. "Yes, I do. Why?" Ase said apprehensively.

Thor stood up and looked at her. A sudden realization washed upon her. "You don't think Loki is still alive, do you?"

Thor furrowed his brows and looked away. The hatch to the ship had opened and the Avengers were now alighting, except for Thor and Ase. "It is always a possibility," Thor whispered.

"If he is, then where is he?" Ase asked. Thor gave her a meaningful look and she gasped with understanding. "Don't tell me Odin is Loki in disguise." Again, Thor merely looked at her, and marched forward. Ase grabbed his arm and stopped him. A surge of hope and confusion brimmed her conscience. There was no need for Loki to hide anymore. He had protected Asgard and he deserved to be released from his prison, so why the effort to disguise himself as a king? Was it to fulfill his goal to rule Asgard?

"Why haven't you stopped him?" Ase demanded. "Where is Odin?"

Thor smiled sadly and looked beyond the forest. "Because he has done nothing but ruling well, Ase. He is redeeming himself for his faults." Ase processed his words carefully, wondering if Loki did push himself to rule justly. Or, Thor was covering up for him. But why would he do that?

One thing was for sure. If he was truly alive, that means he was watching from Asgard.

Ase glanced to the sky. She clutched her necklace and prayed that their assumptions were true. "That's it," Ase declared as she leapt to the ground. Not far, Natasha reported that they were detecting several heat signatures. "I am going to return to Asgard after this."

"That's a good spirit," Thor commented. Ase smiled, and marched forward to another battle.

oOo

Being a replica of Odin was nothing but interesting. He now managed to earn the respects of his subjects, of the Warriors Three and even Heimdall. He had power in his hands to change Asgard, to reshape the city to his liking. He had the courage to speak to delegates from other realms, who did not now a single bit who was behind Odin's façade.

After another meeting with the head sorcerer, who had settled in Jotunheim to aid in the reconstruction there, Loki slouched to his chair and closed his eyes. It was undeniable that everything comes at a price. He had not stopped working since the day Odin gave away his throne to him. "I am too blind to continue, my son," he had said. "I am giving you a chance."

"A chance, huh?" Loki mumbled. So far, he had done as she had instructed. Never to stray from his duties, always caring for the people. He did mischiefs here and there, but they were barely noticeable compared to his accomplishments. He made sure he was fulfilling his promise to her, to be a good ruler.

After a brief slumber, Loki took his leave from the palace and walked to Heimdall's observatory, though the place no longer belonged to him as Loki had sent him away from Asgard under the charge of treason. But Loki did not banish him just uselessly, for he did not want to waste his talent. Thus, Loki placed him in Jotunheim, on the grounds that he was the best to watch over the rebuilding there.

The people cheered for Loki as he walked past, conveying their gratitude to his efforts and his kindness. They were worthy for his endeavours, and it should have made him proud, but somehow Loki only felt… _emptiness._

"My king," greeted Skurge, the new gatekeeper, whom Loki had chosen out of mere instincts. Surely, he thought, nothing could go wrong with a person merely opening the Bifrost gates? Loki acknowledged the man and walked to a newly constructed device: a lens which resembled the device used by Rhea and her sorcerers when they had studied the Convergence. It had been significantly enhanced to zoom in closer to the other realms, Earth no exception.

Loki stood in front of the lens, then moved his fingers over the smooth surface. He saw Midgard, the same even after the disasters which had occurred there. He looked closer to the regions, tracking the red dot which marked her position from the necklace she was wearing. A scene played before him, with Ase and Thor standing side by side. He could not hear what they were saying, but it appeared that they were walking to another battle.

"I am sure he's going to be alright," Skurge said in his gruff voice. "I don't know about the woman though."

Loki smirked and prayed in his heart. "I am sure she will do better," he said. It pained him to see her tread her journey alone. But he could not come to her, at least not now. He had so much to do, so much to redeem. He only hoped that their next meeting would be on better circumstances.

He could only hope that he would be a better man when they meet again.


	27. 0302: Of Magic and Science

"This sure brings back memories!" Clint shouted, firing an arrow to a soldier on the jeep behind them. The arrow pierced the soldier's chest and ignited a gasp from his lungs. His body crashed the snow with a loud thump, which certainly did not please his comrade. Clint yelped when his enemy began blasting the jeep with energy guns. For a moment Clint thought he was going to be shattered into pieces, but the attacks stopped just inches from his face. Clint looked down to see Ase extending her hand, protecting the jeep with her force field.

"I didn't remember fighting with you!" Ase shouted. "Now stay focused and stop almost getting killed!" Ase winced when the blast shook the jeep off their path. Clint grunted, but stayed on his feet and shot an arrow at the enemy gunsman. Thor landed just in time to prevent the last man standing from taking over the energy gun. Without hesitation the Asgardian threw the jeep upside down, slamming it to a nearby tree.

Ase merely glanced at Thor's feat before she was occupied by a soldier, armed and equipped with tools and armour she had never seen before in Earth, who leapt at their jeep with full force. Instinctively hit the man with her staff, cracking his bones and sweeping him away from her vicinity. "Nice staff," remarked Clint whilst he continued to watch the enemies rallying on them.

Sighing, Ase observed enviously as Thor flew from one jeep to a watchtower and knocked down three men at once. She had been stuck with Clint and Natasha in the stupid jeep, completely useless and idle, since the start of their raid on the secret HYDRA research facility. Although her powers were beyond measure, she lacked dearly in terms of mobility. Out of all the spells her mother had taught her or any spells available in sorcery, none had delved too deeply in the arts of mobility and flight. She could neither fly like Thor nor ride a motorcycle, which was taken by Steve on the grounds that he was at a disadvantage with the shield as his only weapon. On the other hand, teleporting randomly at the unfamiliar place would risk her life and the others.

Thus, after considering Natasha's and Clint's vulnerability, she chose to stick with those two and protect them until they could make past the defences and countless bunkers. Meanwhile, Tony struggled in tackling the defences from inside the building, whizzing in the air as he tried to find a safe entrance. Hulk, on the other hand, was still smashing the soldiers as he had always done in their battles.

"Once we're close enough, I'm jumping off," Ase told Natasha.

" _Shit_!" Tony suddenly cursed.

" _Language!"_ Steve warned. A stifled laugh came from Clint.

Ase rolled her eyes and saw a bunker up ahead. She stood up, tired of waiting, and took a great leap from the jeep. Softly, she landed behind the enemy lines, who gaped when they saw her. She cracked her knuckles and swung her staff at the nearest soldier. She grabbed a gun and froze it, whilst another hand, gripping her weapon, pounded an enemy's head and threw him rolling against the other. Behind her, Natasha and Clint jumped off the jeep as well, hurling to the snow.

Natasha panted and saw the ice on the gun. She acknowledged the strangeness of her powers before heading off to her own battle.

 _"J.A.R.V.I.S., what's the view from upstairs?"_ asked Steve, riding past Ase.

" _The central part of the building is protected by some kind of energy shield,"_ the A.I. replied. " _Strucker's technology is well beyond any other HYDRA base we've taken."_

Ase punched an agent and looked up at the said building. Blasts of energy were fired from the building, targeting Tony only to miss foolishly. She narrowed her eyes and shifted her gaze to where the blasts ended. One of the projectiles landed itself on a cliff just next to the nearest city. Ase sprinted towards the compound, evading the soldiers recklessly without even countering them.

"Stark," Ase called out. "I think I can help you with the cannons. You need to get me up there."

" _I don't understand how, but I'll give you a lift,"_ Tony replied. Just a second later, Tony's suit came into view, and Ase lifted her hands. Swiftly he took them and carried her in the air, her legs dangling like a lifeless puppet. The view in the air would be breathtaking if it weren't for the constant lasers flying at them. Tony maneuvered quickly in the air, giving her a fright when he suddenly somersaulted in the sky.

" _Sorry,"_ Tony said. _"I'm giving you a rough landing."_

Before Ase could protest, her body was hovering in the air. Ase twitched her brows and braced for her feet to crash the ground. They did, and she rolled a couple of times before jumping to her feet. Tony had released her right in the middle of a group of soldiers, fully equipped with guns and those specialized armours they had.

"My friends are not here," Ase declared. "You're _dead."_

The soldiers shouted at her, but their screams stopped at the tip of their tongues. Ase swallowed the stunned, frozen statues before her, frowning and smiling at the same time. Without her comrades being threatened by the extent of her powers, Ase could freely use her ice abilities without being worried. She huffed and smashed a nearby cannon, before rushing up the slope towards the building.

The building was surprisingly ancient, built from bricks rather than concrete. It resembled a fortress, nested high on top of the mountain, bearing view to the lower areas. The slope was zig-zagged, lined with soldiers and cannons ready to kill her. Ase wondered if this had truly been a castle in the past. It would be a shame to ruin the site, she thought.

Nevertheless if the place was a fortress or just an expensive villa, it certainly provided the HYDRA soldiers with good hiding places to assault her. Fortunately, she was more bulletproof than humans, and she endured the small bites from their blasters easily. She continued to fend off her enemies, forcing her way through their lines and began drawing closer to the main building. As she did so, the energy from the Mind Stone grew more intense, tingling her senses with a sense of familiarity.

"The scepter is in the central building," Ase reported. "How's everything going down below?"

" _We're still trying to break through,"_ Steve replied. Ase swallowed this bit of information. The cannons were relentless, targeting Tony on air instead of her.

"Stark, the blasts are going to hit the city," Ase reminded. She was only several metres away from the building.

" _I know,"_ Stark replied. " _We now know that Strucker is not going to worry about civilian casualties."_ There was a short pause before Ase's comms buzzed to life again. " _Send in the Iron Legion."_

 _The Iron Legion?_ Ase pondered for a second before she understood the implications of his order. She sounded an 'oh' and glanced to the sky, where dozens of iron suits flew towards the city. She observed it with a slight amazement and leapt to another cannon. There were a dozen of them at least. She knew that Tony's suit could not do much but evacuate the citizens. The task of destroying the weapons were at her hands.

Ase stopped on her tracks when she hit an invisible wall. She staggered back and studied the new obstacle. "It appears not anyone but HYDRA can enter this building."

" _Freeze it. You may take down the shield momentarily to get in,"_ Tony replied. Ase thought of the idea for a moment before she instinctively followed his instructions. She touched the shield and cooled it down, creating an ice wall around the building.

Ase stepped back and took out her staff. The runes on the weapon pulsed with magic. She took a deep breath and struck the shield with full force. Virtually, the barrier shattered, and Ase spared no moment to linger around and sled inside the enemy's base. The soldiers were aghast when they saw this woman intruding, so Ase decided to give them an enlightenment.

This technique had been developed over time, but Ase had not the courage to perform it in real life. It was prone to strayed paths or exploding in the air. Ase retreated to a stance and calmed withdrew her staff. Eyeing the nearest cannon, she concentrated her energy in her right hand. She calmed her breathing and finally threw the ball of energy towards the cannon.

Her projectile travelled smoothly in the air and burst into an encasing frost right at the cannon. The soldiers cursed when they could not utilise the machinery again. Ase smiled in satisfaction and quickly switched to the other cannon. The weapon received the same fate as its friend.

Ase's skin shivered and she looked around. A sound disturbed her mind, as if the wind was moving unnaturally. From the corners of her eyes, Ase saw a flash.

Before she could understand the new threat, she had been thrown off the slope.

Ase screamed and looked down at the cascading cliff. Who had attacked her?

The answer came just a second after. A white-haired man, wearing sneakers, appeared before her. No, he _ran_ to her, in a very high speed. Ase widened her eyes.

"Bye," the man said and kicked Ase's hands off the ground.

Her body flung into the air, then descended like a heavy statue. Ase blinked for a few times before she propelled herself in the air. Her hands scraped the rocky surface, grasping the cliff in desperation.

"Folks," Ase reported, panting. "I think we have a superhuman here. Super speed." Ase suddenly heard a loud grunt from the comms, followed by the distinct sound of crashing.

" _We have an enhanced in the field_ ," told Steve.

" _Clint's hit,"_ Natasha added, her voice alarmed. " _I think I need to evac him."_

 _"Stark, we really need to get inside,"_ Steve pleaded.

" _I'm closing in,"_ Stark reassured them. Ase heaved and pulled herself back to the top of the cliff again. Now they knew what the scepter was used for. Strangely, Ase detected not one, but two signatures bearing the stone's energy.

"I think another superhuman is inside," Ase deduced and sprinted into the building, its defences failing. Just then, Stark launched a missile to the base of the mountain, which triggered a tremendous explosion that somehow defeated the shields. However, the obstacles had not stopped there for her. While Tony could easily land on the top, she must climb her way through.

There were still dozens of soldiers left. Too many that it confused her. Her body began moving on its own, her eyes scanning the area hastily to search for the scepter. She could not find it and she guessed it was there on top.

" _I'm in,"_ Tony reported. " _Dude, look at those machineries."_

"I'm coming," Ase added, leaping up the stairs. Her attention was more diverted to the holding cells scattered in the building, all of them unkempt and dirty. There were distinct blood sputters on the floor, and dents in the metal cell. What research had been done here must be inhumane. Ase switched to her comms, asking for Stark. "Stark. Where are you—"

Out of nowhere, a powerful punch struck her to the walls. Ase's vision blackened, reduced to a small light hanging on the ceiling. She shook her head. A woman was standing before her, extending her hands. Before Ase could retaliate, her body went numb and she was transported elsewhere.

It was a sea of flames.

Ase held her breath and studied her surroundings. Somehow panic began to gnaw at her, a terrifying fear pinning her to the ground. There were screams, helpless cries of babies, and deafening roars. She tried to identify her surroundings, but she could not.

"Ase," spoke a voice, chilling and familiar. Ase turned around and saw her father, kneeling behind her and covered his face.

"Father? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Ase asked and sank to the floor. Somehow, her feet felt very heavy and her head drowsy. Her father groaned in pain.

Ase grasped her father's hands and nudged it. "Let me see your injury. I may be able to heal it."

There was a long moment before he pulled his hands away. He snatched her hand and clawed at her. His eyes were gouging out, hollow and red. Then his body melted, arms and limbs descending like liquid and marring Ase's skin. She screamed and tried to retain her father's solid form, but he continued to be dismembered until only his face was left.

"You cannot save us," Birger writhed. "You can never save us."

Ase cried and the scene dissipated. Nothing was left before her, only the HYDRA research facility. Bodies of fallen HYDRA soldiers littered the ground, none of them disfigured or burnt. She panted and closed her eyes. _It was just an illusion,_ she reminded herself. Whoever this enemy was, she was formidable and perhaps had a connection with sorcery. _Or it was not._

Ase exhaled a deep breath and marched to the control room, where she presumed Tony was. As she walked past the alien technologies, each one of them imbued with the energy from the Mind Stone. Ase frowned and imagined what capabilities these weapons and machines held. Out of a momentary decision, she froze them, and smashed them one by one.

Once she reached what seemed like a control room, she searched for the scepter. To her disdain, it was not there. _There must be a secret room,_ Ase thought, then coincidentally found a sliding door in the wall. She raised her brows and glanced warily, before descending down to the room.

Tony was standing before the scepter, but he did not reach it. Instead he was looking into a space, his eyes reflecting a strange glint. He was not wearing his armour. Ase detected the two superhumans in the room, but once she was aware of this, they fled. "Stark," Ase said as she shook his shoulders. This snapped him to his senses and he looked at her, bemused.

"What?" he chirped.

"You were hit by the illusion too, weren't you?" Ase asked, grabbing his arm. "What did you see?"

Tony fluttered his eyes. "Nothing of interest," he lied. "Are you going to take the scepter or you're going to let me do it?"

Ase narrowed her eyes and nodded. She hesitantly reached for the scepter. Her hands tingled when she did so, but nothing worse happened. The scepter was now in her hands, as heavy as she remembered it, nothing altered. "This is definitely legitimate," Ase acknowledged.

Tony nodded and returned to his suit. "Come on. We have an archer to treat."

oOo

Although the mission was successful, the team was surprisingly grim. Solemn, was the proper word, especially with Banner retreating himself to some relaxing opera music to abate the Hulk's rage, and Ase's constant furrowing brows as she concentrated herself to Clint's wounds.

The dim glow from her hands seemed to emphasise the slow process of healing. _Stupid,_ Ase cursed inwardly. It was only a minor injury, just that it hit the right spot to instill agony in Clint, and rendering him unconscious.

"How's he?" Steve asked, still marveling her magical ability to mend wounds.

"He's going to recover," Ase explained wryly. "I just wished I studied more of healing magic. It's very useful on guys like him."

Thor chuckled and patted her back. Ase faked a smile and remembered their conversation before the start of the battle. Afar, Natasha was consoling Bruce, assuring him that Hulk had no control over his conscience. "Thor, report on the Hulk?" Natasha inquired.

Thor chuckled and folded his arms. "The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims," Thor answered proudly. Natasha's face darkened and Bruce's heart sank. But Ase let out a small laughter which lightened the atmosphere.

"Stop it. You don't have that kind of ability," Ase explained to Bruce. "Not even Odin can hear them."

Thor twitched awkwardly and tried to correct himself. "Not the screams of the dead, of course. No no, uh… wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh… and gout," Thor rambled. Obviously it did not work for Banner.

Ase quirked another smile before she slapped Clint's cheek The man was thrown into a series of fits and coughs, whilst Ase stood back. Clint huffed and wheezed, staring at Ase in disbelief. She shrugged her shoulders and received a coffee from Steve gratefully. "I've stopped the bleeding, but I can't seem to regenerate beyond that," she reported disdainfully.

"I don't know if I should thank you for that," Clint replied brokenly.

"Don't worry. We have a specialist waiting in the tower," Stark added. Ase nodded and drank from her can.

The ship arrived in New York, docking itself at the top of Stark Towers, the new base for the Avengers. Ase was quite delighted to see agent Hill welcoming them. She had not been told about the survivors of the HYDRA rebellion clearly, and she was surprised that Hill was one of them. There was another woman beside her, wearing a laboratory suit. Ase assumed she was Helen Cho, a famous geneticist who could help Clint recover fully.

Ase approached the scepter, which laid safely in a case under her watch. "What are we going to do with it?" she asked Thor.

"Bring it back to Asgard," Thor said and beamed. There was a sense of urgency in his voice, which was reasonable considering that both were suspecting Odin as Loki.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for," Steve intervened. "I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?"

Ase mouthed an 'oops' to Tony, who understood that she had destroyed all the alien weapons in Strucker's lab. However, considering the Avengers had raided several HYDRA bases before, perhaps they had found some of such weapons.

"Banner and I'll give it the once before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?" said Tony to Thor. Thor pondered deeply before nodding. Ase too, out of persuasion, nodded her head. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. had dissolved, Ase was practically not bound to any organization, even the Avengers. She was free to do as she pleased.

"But you're not going to meddle with it without my eyes on you," Ase told first hand. She seemed to earn the agreement from Tony and Banner, who now looked up at the woman in fear more than ever after she had returned with sorcery and a terrifying staff.

"Also, it's just a few days until the farewell party," Tony said. There's a farewell party? "You're staying right?"

Thor looked at Ase then coughed. "Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels," he answered. Ase merely tilted her head in agreement.

"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels. Captain?" Tony continued. Steve looked doubtful, always contained in his own world of worries.

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and HYDRA, so. Yes, revels," Steve said with a sigh. Tony clapped his hands once in satisfaction.

Once the ship had touched the ground, all of them alighted. Ase supported Clint on her shoulder and walked down the tramp. "Hey," Hill said firstly to her. "Glad you're alive."

Ase rolled her eyes. Helen assessed Clint momentarily before she directed Ase to one of the labs provided and funded by Tony. Ase had no choice but to leave the scepter to Thor and the debrief to Steve.

"I've heard a lot about you from Dr. Banner," Helen said out of nowhere as they entered the room. A cradle or some sorts was at the centre, surrounded by other computers and machineries capable of providing data for Clint. Ase raised a brow and helped mounting Clint to the open cradle.

"I don't know if what you've heard is a bad thing or a good thing," Ase commented, laying Clint on the bed. Helen laughed softly and, after telling Clint to relax and close his eyes, closed the cradle.

"Dr. Banner has never told anything bad about you," Helen explained as she tapped the control panel. A green light enveloped Clint slowly, scanning his body and inputting data to the computer. "He told you about your powers, your heritage."

Ase had known several scientists in her life, and she knew that this kind of idle chat hides another intention. "You want to take tests on me, doctor?"

Helen widened her eyes and scratched the back of her head. Flushing, she nodded enthusiastically. "Not that kind of tests, just your blood is enough. I am a geneticist, you see. I am interested with the mechanisms of your genes."

Ase lifted her head and understood. "I see," she mumbled. Never had she dared to do this. She was not slightly interested to her heritage except that she was a hybrid species. But considering Helen was a master in her field, Ase thought it was a good opportunity to discover more about herself. After a second of thinking, she nodded. "I don't mind, as long as you tell me firsthand the results."

Helen's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands in excitement. "Great. Good, thanks. Uhm… Could you show me your arm so I can take your blood?"

Ase obliged and rolled up the sleeve of her jacket. Helen doubtfully inserted the needle into her skin, experiencing a difficult time when she did so. She realised what was wrong and switched to a larger, sharper, and perhaps more durable needle. This time she succeeded and punctured the skin lightly, drawing the dark red liquid from the blood vessel. The process was painstakingly slow, and Ase diverted her attention to Clint, who was recuperating in the cradle.

Once Helen was done, she patched the small puncture wound with a band aid, which was unnecessary, and stored the blood sample in a small tube. She gingerly inserted a drop into an analyzing machine and turned to Clint. "He'll be back to normal in a minute," the doctor explained. "Just in time for the blood-analysis machine to give us some results."

"What do you think you can use the results for?" Ase asked suspiciously. Helen shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, perhaps cure some diseases or sorts?" she guessed. "I've tested Thor's blood and found regenerative properties in his genes. If I research it correctly, I can help develop better medicine or even make humans heal faster just like Asgardians do."

Instantly, Ase frowned her face in disapproval. Helen quivered in fear at her terrifying expression. "I don't think I consent with the other one."

"Don't worry, I won't do the other one. Asgardian property," Helen jokingly said. "But it's worrying if another person does not say so."

Several minutes later, all her friends arrived, with Tony bringing a tray of drinks for them. Steve explained to Ase that the two enhanced were Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, experiments of Loki's scepter. One had a superspeed and the other telekinetic abilities, which explained how Wanda could hijack her own protective mind.

Tony handed Clint a drink, which he received weakly as he laid on the bed. Helen explained to the team that the attack had took away some of Clint's flesh, which obliged her to create new tissue for his ribs. "You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference," Helen assured him. Clint scoffed and drank from his cup.

"Well, I don't have a girlfriend," he replied in dismay.

"That, I can't fix," Helen sighed. She tapped the cradle. "This is the next thing, Tony. Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust."

"Well, that is exactly the plan," continued Tony. "And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday."

Helen sighed and shook her head. "Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties." Then Helen strangely looked at her and blushed. "Will Thor be there?" she added lowly.

Ase snorted and glanced away, towards her own blood sample. Her amusement died down and she reflected on her previous conversation with then woman. Now that she had heard the cradle's capabilities, Ase was filled with worry. This woman seemed more threatening with her ability to create living matter. It was a matter of time before she could create a body, and then a life form. She regretted her decision to give her blood slightly, but judging from the woman's sincere words, Ase believed she would do no harm with it.

Suddenly, a series of beep came from the machine analyzing Ase's blood. Helen jumped and rushed to the device. Tapping on the control pad, she produced a holographic model of Ase's genes, then summoned another beside them. She assumed it was Thor's. Just from a brief glance, Ase knew they were different from each other.

"This is magnificent," Helen said, studying the hologram. "Indeed, half of your genes is different than Thor's, while the other one is very similar." She flicked her hands and zoomed in further. Ase stepped closer and marveled at how beautiful the strands were. Helen gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Some of the DNA have mutated at certain places. Fortunately for you, these are not bad mutations, but benevolent ones," Helen explained. "If your parents have powers in the first place, these powers are amplified in you." Ase nodded in understanding, suddenly became interested with molecular biology. It was very enlightening to discover more of herself. Helen continued her lecture on her unique genetics, which included which parts she deduced to be the cause of her frost powers and resistant to colds. Then it came to a point where Helen stopped entirely, and stepped back in amazement.

"I've seen this property before, in other humans," Helen told her, pointing at one part of the DNA. "In fact, it's present in other humans, but somehow slightly different. It's present in other humans too. Do you know what it does?"

Ase remained silent, not because she did not know the answer but because she wanted to keep the dangerous secret. The property Helen was pointing at was the ability to manipulate magic. If she discovered what it was, Ase imagined it would trigger a thirst for new discovery in her.

 _If Helen found a way to reverse this property and make it like mine, then possibly all humans can do magic in the future._

 _And it doesn't sound good._

"Sharp senses?," Ase finally answered, thinking it for the best. It was better, after all, to give a satisfying lie than no answer at all. At least it would stop her from researching further.


	28. 0303: Party's Over

Ase had never publicly displayed herself to so many people before. At least, not intentionally. Nor had she attended a party like this, which was quite the experience for a socially awkward woman like her. She had intentionally arrived late, masking herself in a plain, black, knee-length dress which was more suitable for a funeral, and Loki's necklace. She now called the jewellery more fondly so to remind her of him.

When she entered Tony's house, the man suddenly threw his arm over her shoulder and pulled her inside. "Welcome, my lady, to a party," Tony said jokingly as he showed her around. To say Tony was rich was an incredible understatement. She saw billiards and a bar, ludicrously extravagant chairs and sofas, and glass panels which provided a broad view to the streets below. Music lingered in the air, encouraging many of the guests to dance.

There were so many people, most she didn't recognize. Ase saw the members of the Avengers dressed in crisp shirts and suits, looking far neater than the party' host. She stifled a laughter when she saw Natasha in a white dress, looking like a summer girl. And she was talking to people like a normal person. Ase glanced around to see Thor sitting with several old men, immersed in a conversation she could not catch. Then she caught the sight of Banner, apparently as awkward as she was in the social gathering. Clint was sitting on one of the sofas, slightly immobile as he was still recovering.

Steve appeared on the billiard table and waved at her. "She's finally here," Steve announced. Tony shoved her before her friends, completely exposed like a displayed tableware. Beside the man was a stranger, a dark-skinned man with a buff figure.

"She doesn't look as scary to me," the stranger whispered to Steve.

Steve laughed freely and introduced him to Ase. "You bet haven't seen her in the field. Ase, meet Sam Wilson. Sam, meet Ase."

Sam shook Ase's hand and shuddered when his warmth clashed with her cold skin. "Just Ase? Like no surname or maiden name."

Ase shook her head and quirked a faint smile. "No. Apparently that's not a must in Asgard." She paused and looked at him and Steve. "Are you two a couple or something?"

"No," Sam answered. "He's my mate. My brother in arms."

"Oh, a couple then," Ase murmured. Steve chuckled and pointed at the bar, encouraging her to take a drink with him. She accepted the offer, although she knew it would be useless against her alcohol tolerance. Steve ordered her a drink she didn't know, which she assumed must have dated back from his era.

"So, how's Asgard?" Steve asked. "You haven't exactly told us the complete story."

At first his innocence pained her, for he did not know what _exactly_ had occurred in her homeland. There was her mother's death, then Loki's death, then her failure to uphold her mother's heritage. Then there was a sense of relief that Thor had not told them yet. Taking a sip from her glass, she coolly said, "Nothing interesting except for magic."

Tony introduced Ase to a man called James Rhodes, who, like Sam Wilson, judged her as an ordinary woman until Tony explained in detail her achievements in battle. Rhodes tried to tell a joke to lighten his shock and regain his confidence, but it apparently did not work for all of them. Then the conversation went from dry jokes to the men's lovers. Pepper could not join as she had a company to run, which Tony actually owned and should have supervised, Ase thought silently. Thor used this opportunity to bring in Jane's accomplishments as the world's foremost astronomer after the Convergence. But Hill was not impressed by their words and instead mocked Thor and Tony for their foolish competition about their lovers' feats.

"I was just wondering," Ase intervened gently. "What have you found about the scepter?" She coughed and made it clear that the question was directed to Tony, who was descending to drunkenness although he tried to save his drink throughout the party. Tony took a few moment to register her question.

"Well, we found out that there is some sort of… A.I. inside the scepter," Tony said inconsistently. "J.A.R.V.I.S. is studying it. Don't worry, I'm not fiddling with it too much."

"You should stop worrying about things, Ase," Clint advised. "One day it'll kill you." She jumped when she heard his voice. Only then did she realise he had been stalking them all along. His face was red and his eyes blurry. He's also drunk.

Ase's face darkened and she put down her empty glass. "Lacking that has killed others," she said curtly and instructed the bartender to make her another drink. "Look what happened when I stopped worrying over you. Getting blasted out of all times."

Clint's lips pouted in a childish manner. "You just keep blaming me, do you? What about those tons of coffee I gave you during work?" he slurred. Ase folded her arms and scoffed.

"Those were briberies. They don't count," Ase replied.

Just then Steve, who had disappeared with Sam a while ago, emerged in the small circle and joined their new discussion about co-worker attitudes and annoying bosses. In his drunken state, Clint confessed that he wished for a real girlfriend, just like what Helen had suggested before, though his work disallowed him to do so. Several of the older guests appeared in the small circle. The conversation shifted to the veterans telling war stories and how they dealt with grandchildren. By veterans, Steve was also included, and his tales bemused and amazed most of the older men.

Out of boredom, Thor took out his vial of ancient alcohol, brewed specially in Asgard. Ase's curiosity was piqued; perhaps this drink could finally snap her out of her soberness. "I gotta have some of that!" said one of the old men.

"Oh, no, no, no," Thor argued. "See this, this was aged for a thousand years, in the barrels built from the wreck of Brunhilde's fleet, it's not meant for mortal men." Thor poured the drink into two glasses, then some into Ase's glass. She raised it and tentatively sipped it. For the first time in her life, she felt shivers running down her throat, and her consciousness threatened.

"Neither was Omaha Beach, blondie. Stop trying to scare us. Come on," insisted the old man. Thor relented and poured some of the drink for him. Not a second after the man drank it, he fell down to the floor and snored loudly. Ase scoffed and watched as the bartender and a waiter carried him off the dance floor.

The party went on, quite eventful. The number of drunken men grew, and the number of guests leaving increased as well. By the end of the party, only the Avengers and their closest comrades were left, with only Thor, Ase, and Steve as sober as ever. They gathered around a sofa, trying to stay awake as the night went on.

"Uh, 'Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power'" Clint murmured, referring to Thor's hammer on the table. "Whatever man! It's a trick."

"Well please, be my guest," Thor said. The rest looked at one another doubtfully. Ase leaned against the sofa and smirked, waiting for a volunteer to present himself.

Clint was the first, grabbing the hammer's handle and began pulling with all his might. But, as she had expected, the hammer was not budged, and Clint was the one defeated. "You're too high to be worthy, Barton," Ase commented. "Next."

Tony offered himself next. He tried to lift it, even using his legs as support, but the hammer was relentless. He resorted to his suit's arm next and it did not move. Rhodes came forward and lent his suit's arm to aid Tony, though they only ended up being exasperated. Finally, they gave up and returned to their seats with no regrets.

Banner tried next, exerting all his strength on a single pull. Knowing he could not do it, he roared in order to summon the Hulk, but failed. He noticed Ase had taken a defensive stance and sat back awkwardly.

Ase observed the audience. They were now not interested in coming forward. She landed her eyes on Steve and patted his back. "Come on, old man. Show your patriotism," she said.

"Let's go, Steve. No pressure," encouraged Tony. Steve paused to think and decided to take up the challenge. The audience cheered for him as he placed his fingers around the handle. He grunted and began to pull. A moment of silence later, Ase noticed a slight shift of the weapon from the handle. She widened her eyes and glanced at Thor, who was suddenly insecure of his position as Asgard's mightiest warrior.

Yet, much to the Asgardian's relief, the hammer returned back to its position, and Steve gave in to the adamant weapon. Now the audience truly believed there was a magic at work which prevented any of them from wielding the weapon. Then, as if their minds were connected, they turned to Ase. She widened her eyes and stepped back.

"No, I'm not going to do it," she said firmly.

"Come on, don't be like that," Rhodes urged her. "We're not going to throw you eggs or something."

Ase looked at Thor to seek approval. Reluctantly he agreed, for he needed to assure the innocent people of his complete ownership of the weapon. Ase relented and stepped forward to the table. The weapon appeared more imposing than before. She gulped and curled her fingers around the handle. A strange feeling overwhelmed her, like a wave of warmth seeping into her inner being. Ase widened her eyes. She nudged the object slightly.

It was light.

Ase grunted and dropped her grip on the weapon. She huffed and panted. "I can't," she admitted humbly. Thor narrowed his eyes. Ase stepped back and laughed with her friends. But Thor did not, and he shared the same thoughts with her.

"The handle's imprinted right? Like a security code," Tony suggested. "'Whoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints' is, I think, the literal translation?"

Tony's humour returned Thor to his good mood. He stood up and took his hammer. "Yes, well that's, uh, that's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one." He paused to flip the weapon easily in the air. "You're all not worthy."

"Magic," Ase mouthed to everyone else. A series of laughter burst among them. They ignored the fact that Ase had completely lied when she tried to lift Thor's hammer.

Ase winced when a loud screech echoed across the room. The others grimaced and looked at Tony. He glanced at his phone, but found nothing out of ordinary. At least, until he tried to contact J.A.R.V.I.S. about what's going on, for it did not answer. She heard faint footsteps, but too heavy and irregular to belong to a human.

Then they saw it. Standing just across the room was a broken robot, which modelled Tony's suit helplessly. "Stark?" she accused him.

"Worthy… No," the robot spoke, startling all of them. Tony tried desperately to figure out the situation, for it shouldn't have been possible for a robot to go rogue. "How could you be worthy? You're all killers," the robot continued.

Ase's conversation with Tony resurfaced. _He found an A.I. in the scepter. What if he didn't leave the A.I. alone?_ Tony avoided her glare and continued to fumble with his mobile device, desperately trying to shut the robot down.

"I am sorry I was asleep," the robot continued. "Or I was a-dream."

"Reboot Legionnaire OS. We got a buggy suit," Tony ordered to J.A.R.V.I.S. There was no answer.

"There was this terrible noise. And I was tangled in…. In strings." The robot began to sway. He grabbed his head with his hand, acting as human as the others in the room. "I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

Steve frowned. As far as they knew, no human being was inside the building except for them. "You killed someone?"

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices," it answered.

"Who sent you?" Thor asked.

"I see a suit of armour around the world," it replied, turning to Tony, as if it knew him well. Tony visibly shuddered and Ase further narrowed her eyes in suspicions.

"Stark, what have you been planning?" Ase asked.

"Ultron," Banner answered in his stead. "You're Ultron."

The robot seemed to smile behind its dilapidated, immobile mask. "In the flesh," it said. "Or, no, not yet. Not this chrysalis, but I'm ready."

Ase stepped forward alertly, noticing Thor readying his hammer by his side. Hill took out her gun, sensing the impending threat from the suit.

"I'm on a mission," Ultron explained. "Peace in our time."

A loud crack came from the walls behind him. Three iron suits cracked the walls open and flew towards them. Ase raised her hand and threw two of the suits back to where they belong. One escaped her grasp and hurled at her, casting her to the sofa. "Everybody take cover!" Ase groaned. She leapt to her feet and saw the two other suits returning back to battle.

The suits began assaulting the others, who were less defended than Ase. One began to shoot at Steve and Ase summoned a force field just in time to protect him. The other chased down Sam and Clint after being hit by Thor's hammer. Ultron blasted Rhodey off the floor, sending him to a platform below.

Instinctively, Ase threw an ice projectile to Ultron's feet, freezing him to the ground. She sent another to its hand, which crept down to its torso. Suddenly the suit which had assaulted Steve lunged at her and curled its arms around her neck. Ase coughed and elbowed the suit hard on the ribs, breaking a wire or two. The machine wriggled before it rushed to a nearby wall. She widened her eyes and raised her legs. Releasing force from her feet, she used the momentum to whirl around and hammer the suit in her place.

"Ase!" Thor called. She blinked and understood his instructions when he lifted his hammer. Promptly, she threw her weight in front and tossed her enemy to the Asgardian. Thor spun his hammer and struck the suit hard to the ceiling, creating a distinct hole on it which failed to let the suit into the sky. She nodded to him with thanks.

"The scepter is being taken!" warned Helen. Thor and Ase turned to see a suit snatching the scepter form its stand. Ase tried to stop it with her ice bullets, but it was too swift and escaped.

At the other side of the battlefield, Steve was brawling with another suit. Clint took his shield and flung it to the soldier. Steve received it gratefully and threw it to the suit, smashing it into pieces immediately. Only Ultron was left, rooted to his place. It did not retaliate in its poor state of maintenance.

"Anybody injured? Ase asked. Fortunately, everyone was alright except for a few small cuts and bruises.

"That was dramatic," Ultron remarked. "I'm sorry. I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to evolve?"

Ultron picked up one of the dismembered suits and scoffed. "With these? These puppets? There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction."

Thor was not impressed and smattered Ultron using his hammer. But Ultron's consciousness still remained among them. "I had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on me, no strings on me," Ultron sang. The team looked at one another and realised that their phones had been hijacked by Ultron. An extremely smart A.I. was now on the loose, perhaps corrupting every digital system in the world, and they knew whom to ask. Ase lowered her own and glared at Tony. All of them shared her look.

"Thor, I think you better chase that suit," Ase instructed calmly. Thor nodded and rushed away with his hammer. Then she turned to Tony, a disappointed smile carving her face.

"I suggest you explain yourself," she curtly said.

oOo

"Banner and I created Ultron as a peacekeeping A.I., modelled after the encrypted code found in Loki's Sceptre," Tony explained, though his attention was not focused on his friends' glares. He constantly moved around, checking the computers and seeing the extent of damage Ultron had wrought in his lab. With only a brief glance to their computers and phones, all of them knew that Ultron had now taken control of the internet.

"It should have been like the Iron Legion, but smarter and stronger," Banner continued. "We didn't expect it to be this _smart,_ and rebellious. Now all our work is gone. Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch."

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other," Natasha added.

Rhodes's face sank in horror. "He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"

"Nuclear codes," suggested Hill.

"Nuclear codes," Rhodes repeated. "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

Ase pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to suppress the gurgling headache she had. _Why all scientists are stupid?_ she asked herself. She should have predicted it, shouldn't even have given the scepter to Tony to begin with.

The argument went on. Tony told them that J.A.R.V.I.S. had been dismembered virtually, judging from its holographic form. It appears that Ultron had killed an A.I. and not a person, much to their relief.

Thor entered the lab with a disgruntled expression on his face. Ase grabbed Thor's arm and gestured him to calm down. Anger was not required in this situation, she mouthed. Thor obliged reluctantly and reported his findings to the rest.

"Trail went cold about a hundred miles out, but it's headed north, and it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again," Thor told them seriously.

Ase leaned herself against the wall. "If he's taking the scepter, then perhaps he's making something," Ase suggested. "I think if he wants to use nuclear weapons to destroy Earth, we would've been dead by now."

Banner seemed to agree with her. "He might want to make something more powerful. If that's the case, he needs a lab," he suggested. But it was not exactly an answer to their problems. There were hundreds of labs capable of reproducing whatever maniacal plans in Ultron's mind.

"I guess we have no choice but to wait the news," Hill said. A long silence ensued. Thor remembered Rhea's device, which could track the energies of the Infinity Stones easily. Yet, there was no time to return to Asgard, and he did not know how to operate it. Not even Ase.

"This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand," Thor said, speaking Ase's mind. But this did not encourage or even motivate them to face the situation. For the first time in a while, everything seemed hopeless. Their morale was at the brink of exploding into pieces.

"We can do this," Steve finally said, remaining the most optimistic of the group. "If we are planning to beat Ultron, we will do this together."

"We'll lose," Tony said.

Steven pursed his lips and continued, "Then we'll do that together, too." Stark looked away. "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller."

Only slightly, the gloomy air lifted. It was a wonder how Steve could often motivate them in their lowest times. He was quite the admirable leader, she must say, although his ways might be too old for the current era.

After considering and weighing the odds, Ase stepped forward and volunteered herself. "We can start by finding the most probable labs which can contain and produce whatever possible weapons Ultron wants to create. Then I can teleport to each of them to check. It will take time, but perhaps I am the only one capable of tracking the scepter without the help of technology."

Thor creased his brows anxiously. "That will take too much of your energy, and time," Thor suggested. Ase shrugged her shoulders lightly and looked at Tony.

"Then I guess we need to filter all of them, before Ultron can erase the database of the labs," Ase retorted. It was an insane idea, to be honest. She admitted her body was a large vessel of storing and channeling magic, but she had learnt rather painfully that teleportation and space magic heavily tolled the body more than anything else. It might render her immobile at the end of the day, but they had no choice.

"How many can you take?" Banner inquired. Ase roughly calculated in her mind and sighed.

"Fifty, if you want to do it fast," Ase answered.

"Right," Tony said surely. "Banner and I will find fifty most probable labs capable of doing this. The rest, I want you to monitor Ultron's movements." Tony ransacked his drawer and handed Ase an earpiece. "Remain in contact. Tell us if you've find anything. Don't engage."

"Ultron won't track this?" Ase inquired.

"It's off the grid," Tony answered. "Too old the tech for Ultron to even bother."

Considering he was Ultron's creator, she believed in his way of thinking.

"Got it," Ase said. For a team with no reliable technology, they sure worked fast, because half an hour later Banner had procured several possible locations across the globe. Ase had changed into her short jacket, dark grey shirt, grey trousers, and boots. Her staff was ready and so was her earpiece.

"Good luck," she said to all of them, before she disappeared in a beam of bright light.

oOo

In a place where the chaos of the current situation could not touch, a woman was sitting on cushion with her eyes closed. Surrounding her were tall mountains masked with snow, hiding the presence of one of the sorcerers' sanctuaries on Earth. She sensed a terrible danger coming to Earth, though it was not a magical one. A decision had been made that the sorcerers would not meddle with physical troubles of the world, and they would remain so in this event.

Yet, as she delved deeper into this newfound chaos, she sensed another thing. A presence, strong with magic, jumping from one place to another, across the world. A variety of energy followed her, not only from their dimension but from other dimensions as well. And judging from the pace at which the energies flowed through her, she deduced that this woman was not ordinary. The way she controlled magic was not the same as the arts and skills they teach in Kamar-Taj. It intrigued her, for she had not noticed this before.

 _She could be a threat,_ she thought, _but my mind tells me the other way round._

The woman finally opened her eyes and smiled. "Mordo," she called out. A dark-skinned man wearing green robes emerged from the darkness. He bowed to her in respect and waited for her further instructions. She usually did not do this to outsiders, but this woman was an extraordinary exception. She could broaden their perspective on the mystic arts.

"After the next chaos has ended," the woman continued. "I want you to invite a lady here."

"For what purpose, Ancient One?" Mordo asked.

"Oh nothing," she replied. "Perhaps just for a cup of tea and a small talk."

* * *

 **A/N: Wow. I am simply impressed. 100 Follows and 75 likes? And beautiful reviews? Guys, you are too kind. Thank you so much. I've been away for quite some time because of the building stress, but all your encouragement really heartens me. Again, life hits me like a truck, and I've found difficulties in coping. Yet, I've always been cheered up by you guys and the support you've given to continue on writing. Trust me, English writing here is far different, and my actual essay writing sucks. I'll try my best, hopefully. Next week my exams are starting, and it's going to stretch until November (yeah). Hopefully I have the time and energy to continue posting. But I'll try my best!**

 **Love you all.**


	29. 0304: Nightmares and Daydreams

Humans have not truly experienced what jet lag is.

After visiting twenty labs across the globe and jumping to the next fruitlessly, Ase now half regretted her decision to search for the scepter. But she did notice one thing: there were reports that several of the labs had their equipment stolen. All in such a short time.

" _That's Ultron,"_ explained Clint. " _He's been emptying the labs all over the world. You're right. He's making something big."_

Ase landed on another lab and sensed nothing of the Mind Stone. She sighed and took a seat for a few minutes. The journeys had begun inflicting her body with cramps and her head with a terrible dizziness. "This one's also not good guys," she reported.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down her spine. Ase glanced around and narrowed her eyes. Someone was watching her, though she doubted whoever was stalking her was planning her harm. Ase massaged her temples, trying to tone down the pounding headache.

"I am being followed," she whispered to her earpiece.

" _You are?"_ Steve asked. " _Can you shake him off?"_

Ase shuddered again. "I don't know, it's strange," Ase remarked. "I don't think my stalker is a normal human." A long silence ensued afterwards.

 _Perhaps I'm becoming delusional,_ Ase thought. "I don't think the stalker is one of the Maximoffs either. I'll settle this later. Which lab is next?"

" _Okay,"_ Clint spoke. " _Oh wait, we got news. Strucker was killed, by Ultron I think. You should get back here."_

"Okay," Ase replied. She checked her surroundings again. The person following her had disappeared into thin air. No human could disappear like that, unnoticed. She decided to merely take note of the strange occurrence before teleporting herself back to Avengers' base.

Ase's arrival surprised her teammates, especially since she landed right in front of Clint. "Jet lag?" he asked when he saw her darkened eyes. She nodded weakly and hopped off the platform she was standing on. Ase winced as she saw Strucker's bloody death bed, his own cell. The world 'peace' was painted on the wall, as if making a terrorist statement.

"This is a smokescreen," Natasha inferred. "Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss," Steve deduced. Natasha's head clicked and she searched the computer.

"Yep. Everything we had on Stucker has been erased," she reported in dismay. The others frowned in worry.

"How about papers?" Ase suggested. "It's not digital, right?"

The team looked at her in disbelief and in awe. _Perhaps they thought that I am not that intelligent,_ she told herself. The team began to dig old papers, datas which had fortunately been printed and stored in the tower's archives. Apparently Strucker was infamous enough for the Avengers to consider this old school filing method. They skimmed through the files for Strucker's known associates like school children, though they found too much information to be filtered. Strucker's friends were all criminals, many of them Ase had seen in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database. Most of them were interested in the alterations of human biology, which explained Strucker as their man of choice.

"Wait, I know that guy," Tony said to Banner. Banner gave the papers he was holding to Tony. Ase glanced at the man on the photo, a scruffy middle-aged guy with nasty gaze. His name was Klaue, and he looked every bit of the part as a villain. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms."

"Well why didn't that surprise me," Ase murmured.

Tony sighed and tried to defend himself. "There are conventions, alright? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very 'Ahab'."

Thor scrutinized the man's picture and pointed to the scar on the back of his neck. "Uh, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it…"

"Those are tattoos, this is a brand," Thor corrected, as if knowing these kind of things. It gave Ase a glimpse of his warrior life in Asgard. Banner instantly checked the image in the database, and found a match almost immediately.

"It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief'" Banner explained.

Ase leaned forward to the computer screen. "It's in Wakanda. Coincidentally the only producer of the world's strongest metal."

"Vibranium," Tony added in her stead, looking at Steve's shield.

"Strongest at least on Earth," Ase murmured. Her staff, she was told, had been made of a Vibranium alloy, scraps from creating Steve's shield, but it was ashamedly destroyed during her fight with Malekith. She did not know if her current staff was any stronger. Thus, she would like to keep it safe.

Steve scratched his head and sighed. "Where is this guy now?" he asked.

"African Coast," Tony answered. His teammates stared at him accusingly again. "Let's say that I reconnected with him not too far ago."

"Fortunately it is helping us this time," Ase remarked. "Come on. Let's go."

oOo

The place Klaue was residing in was called Salvage Yard. It was a dock brimming with old and worn ships, floating idly on murky waters which reflected the polluted sky above. He was smart to choose this location to do his illegal business. It was relatively unwatched by the government for its deserted ships and too far from the city for the ordinary citizens to take heed.

The team landed their ship not far from Klaue's boat, where the ground was solid enough to hold their vehicle's weight. Ase could not sense the Mind Stone, thus she assumed it was stored somewhere. Their plan was simple: to stop Ultron from getting whatever he wanted. Evidently, they could not stop Ultron completely, since his consciousness was now all over the internet. It would be better if they could capture the Maximoffs, if it was possible to begin with.

"Remember," Natasha said to Banner, who seated himself uncomfortably in the pilot's chair. "If we need you to turn, we'll tell you."

"Right," Banner affirmed with a faint smile.

"Watch your back," Ase told him before they embarked to Klaue's boat. There were many heat signatures on the boat, and she could sense the two enhanced onboard as well. It was decided that Thor, Tony, and Steve would directly confront their enemies, whilst Clint, Natasha, and Ase would stalk them and clear out any distractions—including Klaue's men.

All the while, she thought of the man who had followed her back then.

Ase, Clint, and Natasha dispersed themselves in the boat. They knocked several men down along the way, but they did not kill them. They deemed prison to be a better punishment for these men, and perhaps being hunted by Wakanda themselves. She would be careful not to use any of her ice powers as any slight error in her control could kill all of them at once.

"We're closing in," Steve said. There were loud speeches coming from the room where Klaue was confined in. "They're discussing something."

Ase nested herself on a railing hidden in the dark. She saw a glimpse of Ultron in Klaue's room. It was in a brand new body, made with impeccable steel and well-functioning limbs. Now they knew what some of those looted items were for.

"But I always, say," Ultron spoke. "Keep your friends rich and your enemies rich and wait to find out which is which."

"Stark," Klaue said. It definitely sounded like something Tony would say. "Tony Stark used to say that, to me. You're one of his."

"What?" Ultron's voice was louder this time, and she heard a grunt. "You think I'm one of Stark's puppets? His hollow men? I mean, look at me. Do I look like Iron Man? Stark is nothing!"

Klaue screamed and Ase shuddered. She was could not see what had Ultron done to Klaue, but judging from Clint's face across her, it had not done good.

"I'm sorry," Ultron stammered. "I'm…. oh… I'm sure that's gonna be okay. I'm sorry." There was a short pause. "It's just… I don't understand. Don't _compare me_ with Stark!" A loud thump resonated throughout the ship and more of it followed. "Stark is… He's a sickness!"

Tony emerged out of his hiding place just then, as if waiting to make a memorable entrance. Ase and her two hidden comrades readied themselves.

"Ah, junior," Tony said. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."

Ultron turned and assessed its creator. Wanda and Pietro studied Thor and Steve warily. They were cautious of the lacking enemy members and scanned the boat. Ase took a faint breath. She was directly on top of them.

"This doesn't have to be messy," Steve advised. Ultron chuckled, just like a human.

"Clearly you've never made an omelette," Ultron replied.

"He beat me by one second," Stark added. Pietro scoffed and stepped forward, eyeing Tony with a vengeful hatred on his eyes.

"Ah, funny, Mr. Stark," Pietro said. "It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?" Pietro glanced at the weaponry on the basement. Ase narrowed her eyes and tried to figure out the relationship between the siblings and Stark. It was impossible to tell with Stark's many shenanigans and misfits in the past.

"This was never my life," Tony defended.

"You two can still walk away from this," Steve suggested. Wanda frowned sympathetically.

"Oh, we will," she chided.

"I know you've suffered," Steve continued. Ultron let out a derisive laughter.

"Ah, Captain America. God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but…"

Ase drew her staff, now never disassembled, and leaned forward to the railing. "This is not funny anymore," she said to her teammates.

Tony agreed with her. "Uh uh. Do it."

Upon hearing his words, Ase leapt from the upper ground and blasted the small bridging holding Ultron and its supporters with a deafening shockwave. The three of them were sent back to Klaue's room, but not without resistance, Behind Tony and the others, several Iron Legions assaulted. Ase did not look back and instead charged forward with her staff.

Pietro's eyes flashed in fear and ran over her in an incomprehensible speed. Ase landed on her back hard on the metal platform, though it took her only a second to come back to her feet. Wanda switched offensives with her brother and struck Ase with a wave of force, powerful enough to shook Ase's inner being. She sent another, this time from Ase's right, throwing her off the platform.

Ase clutched the railing desperately and gathered her concentration. Above, Tony had flown towards Ultron. But Ultron instead hit him with energy beams, turning the tables against Tony. Immediately, an aerial battle began between creator and creation—only to be decided by how advanced their technologies were. Meanwhile, Steve and Thor were struggling with the Iron Legions, unable to help their friends battling the enhanced.

Just when Steve had finished with his current opponent, Pietro slid past him and lifted him off the ground. Wanda took control next and swiftly blasted Thor away from their vicinity. Just from observing for a brief second, Ase knew whom to place as her primary target. She lifted her legs and swung back to the platform. She met Wanda's fierce eyes.

"I'm sorry," Ase said before attacking her with her staff. Wanda managed to block her attacks in a manner similar to how Ase did. She saw how young and innocent Wanda was, and how wounded she was after whatever unfortunate events which had befallen her. She pitied the woman, but she could not spare her mercy at this time.

Ase realised they were on equal grounds when it comes to her current powers. She swallowed hard and decided to put forth a risk the team must be willing to take. Gunshot sounds reverberated in the air, only to be cut short by Clint's and Natasha's counter-attacks.

"You don't know what Stark did to us," Wanda said as she summoned a very powerful attack at Ase. Ase dropped herself intentionally off the railing and swung back to the solid ground.

"I may have experienced worse," Ase said firmly. Wanda blinked her eyes in confusion. Ase took this opportunity and concentrated her energy to her hands. This time they glowed an electric blue, sinking the temperature around her body. Before Wanda could react, Ase had thrown her ice bullet to Wanda's right hand, pushing her back to the door and freezing her limb solid to the wall.

Wanda hissed and struggled to break free. "Wanda!" someone shouted. Ase could not move. There were suddenly flashes around her which punched every part of her body. She saw eyes similar to Wanda's amidst the shadows before she felt her body hovering in the air.

"Shit!" Ase cursed. She could not stop her fall and crashed the weapons below with a deafening crack. In between her blackened visions she saw Pietro warming up Wanda's frozen arm by rubbing his hands very rapidly. Then she shifted her attention to the torpedoes she had bent, which fortunately did not explode due to the impact. She pulled herself up painfully and saw Steve's shield flying towards her. She ducked and let the weapon flew over her, hitting the enemies behind.

"You okay?" Steve asked. Ase nodded and returned her attention to Wanda, who had disappeared from her sight. She could still sense her, but the impact before was dulling her senses. Furthermore, Pietro's incredibly fast sprints was dizzying her head. Klaue's men were still firing at them. Everything was chaotic enough to make one mad.

"I'll take care of Pietro," Ase told Steve. "Go get the Iron Legions. Their main objective is still the vibraniuim." Steve nodded and paced back up to where the Vibranium was stored.

Ase shook her head to snap herself awake and searched for Pietro. The twins were very clever and cooperative with each other. To take one and then another was practically impossible, but she did not have much choice.

Faintly, she heard the wind moving behind her. Ase did not pause to think and unleashed frost around her at once. "Ah!" someone groaned beside her. She turned to see Pietro being frozen on his tracks. She smirked and approached him quickly.

"Stay down," Ase advised as she threatened him with another ice blast. But Pietro instead smirked back.

"Better watch out," he warned her. Ase widened her eyes.

Something pounded on her head, really hard. The pain was agonizing, as if it was splitting her brain open. She crouched to the floor and grabbed her skull.

Then she was kneeling. Ase opened her eyes and stared into her mother's. Rhea was lying on her lap, her stomach pierced by a dagger. Ase did not breath.

"Ase, please save me," Rhea pleaded weakly.

"Mother?" Ase whispered. Rhea coughed and embraced Ase desperately. Ase pulled her mother closer and tried to heal her. Then her eyes caught something no less terrifying. Loki was there across her, his neck being clutched by a giant of a man. He looked at her, frightened, waiting for her aid as well. He could not speak as his voice was stolen from him. She did not recognize her new enemy. He was like a frost giant, but he was not.

"Where is the stone?" Loki's assaulted asked. But Loki did not answer. Instead, he tried to reach for her in vain.

"STOP!" she screamed. She could not move, for Rhea was clutching her too tight. "Mother, please! Let me help him!"

"You are leaving me to die?" Rhea asked in anger. Rhea lifted her head and stared at her with gruesome red eyes. Ase gasped. "You are leaving me for that _beast?"_

Then time stopped. Rhea's words echoed in her mindscape. Ase reflected on them carefully, looking from her mother to Loki, then to her mother again. She was dragging her down.

Her mother would have never dragged her down.

"You're dead mother," Ase admitted bitterly. "I couldn't save you, I can never will. But I can still save him." She lifted her head and glanced at Loki. "I will save you too, but not after I finish my business here."

Rhea's face sank in disbelief. A harsh wind blew across the field, blowing Rhea and Loki into speckles of dust. Their images dispersed into emptiness, and slowly that emptiness reformed into Klaue's ship. Ase breathed heavily and studied her surroundings. It appears that it was the trick played by Wanda again, though this time she managed to escape by herself.

"Ase?" Clint called out. "You didn't get tricked, did you?"

"I did," Ase answered. She noticed Steve lying not far. She rushed to him and shook his body. To her dismay, he did not wake up. She cursed herself for not knowing anything to break this trance.

"All of them are trapped in their daydreams," Clint told her. Ase ran to Thor and slapped his cheek, but he still remained in his dream. Apparently, even an Asgardian could not resist Wanda's magnificent illusion.

All of the remaining Vibranium had been stolen as well. They were defeated this time. _By a robot and two people like me?_ Ase thought. This should not have happened at all. If she had anticipated it better, she could have prevented Wanda from controlling everyone's minds.

"Wait," Ase said. "What do you mean everyone?"

" _Everyone including Banner,"_ suddenly Tony explained. " _He's going rampage. Ase, are you there?"_

Ase quickly scampered out of the boat and into the open air. She saw that their ship's hatch was open, and Tony was flying away hastily. "Don't tell me he's turned into Hulk."

" _He has,"_ Tony answered much to her disdain. " _He's heading to the nearest city. You know where that is? I'm calling in VERONICA, but I'll need you as backup. Quick."_

"Shit," Ase cursed. With Natasha gone, they had no chance in taming the Hulk down except with violence. And VERONICA would not be enough to knock the Hulk hard. She was the only one left capable of doing so.

"Take care of them," she ordered Clint before she directed her focus to the city they had passed on the air. After a second of her body feeling weightless, she emerged in a chaotic street with broken roads and shattered buildings. There were bent cars here and there, but she did not see the Hulk.

Screams screeched in her ears from another block. Ase winced as she sprinted. Hulk's roars filled the air, signifying the certainty of his presence there. Hulk was smashing all the objects he came across, and the people were paralysed in fear. Police tried to shoot the Hulk down, but their advances merely angered him further.

Hulk raised his arm above a police officer. Ase dashed past the line of officers and stopped before Hulk. The Hulk's fist blew her hands hard, but Ase remained on the ground. The earth beneath her cracked as she received the brunt impact. The officer behind her trembled.

"Get everyone out of here!" she ordered him. "You can't do anything here! NOW!"

The officers nodded and began evacuating the citizens more effectively. Ase returned to the Hulk, who was about to attack her again. But Ase pulled one hand away first and punched Hulk on the face. He flew ten metres away, crashing one of the dilapidated cars.

"Banner, snap out of it!" Ase pleaded. "What you're seeing is just an illusion! You're stronger than him. Banner, you're stronger than him!"

Banner was currently not there. Instead, Hulk emerged back into the fray and aimed a punch at her. Ase replied with her own smaller punch, but still equal in force. A shockwave spread across the area, sending the remaining bystanders tumbling to the floor. Just briefly, Ase saw the Hulk wincing. Apparently the theory of pressure being greater in a smaller area applied well here.

" _Ase,"_ Tony said. " _Pin him down a bit. The cage's coming in."_

Ase didn't know at all what he meant by a cage, but she obeyed willingly. She stomped her foot on the ground and ice burst from her soles, encasing Hulk's legs in ice. Before Hulk could break free, she gripped his arm and pivoted herself on it. She swung lightly to Hulk's head and grasped his shoulders. She grimaced and froze his body from the torso down to his feet. A noise was heard from above. She glanced up to see a flying device which hovered next to Tony.

Ase knew what to do next. She jumped off the Hulk and scrambled away from Tony's line of sight. Just a moment later, Hulk was breaking away from his shackles. She watched as the flying device broke off into separate metal plates, implanting themselves on the ground around the Hulk. At the speed of light, the metal plates built a prison which tightly held the Hulk inside once he had freed himself from Ase's shackles. The Hulk pounded in fits of rage inside the prison, and Ase was forced to scare the stupid police officers away.

" _Do you have any idea how to calm him down?"_ Tony asked. " _Create another illusion or something?"_

"I can't," Ase answered. "Wanda is meddling directly with his mind, not his eyes merely. I can't budge him if he's having a very vivid sleepwalking."

Suddenly the ground shook and crumbled. The prison sank into the earth, and with it came a long silence. The Hulk dug deep into the ground and emerged victorious before all bystanders, appearing more enraged than ever. Ase cursed and readied herself for another brawl with the monster, but Tony landed with his exceedingly huge armour on the scene. Her mouth was agape at how preposterous it appeared.

"Tadaa," Tony said. Ase widened her eyes further. "Let me take him. You go figure out how to calm him down."

"What?" Ase chirped. But Tony did not reply anymore and went on against the Hulk. Tony tried to convince Banner to fight against Wanda's illusions, but instead the Hulk replied with a gargantuan roar. Hulk threw a car towards Tony, punching it further when Tony managed to block it.

Ase retreated to her mind and ran through all the possible methods of illusion Rhea had taught her. _What does Banner do to calm himself down?_ She asked herself. Meanwhile, the Hulk grabbed Tony's head and hurled him across the ground. They were destroying far too many buildings for her to

An image of Banner listening to opera music formed in her mind. Ase's eyes lit up. _Auditory illusion,_ she realised. "Stark, do you think music will work?"

She waited for a moment before the man, occupied by his insane battle with the green giant, could answer. In fact, the fight had dragged on to several blocks away, so Ase had to track the trail of battle before she found Hulk punching Tony's suit at the back. "Stark?" she asked again.

" _Yeah! Uh, I think it'll work! Ow!"_ Tony exclaimed. " _Need some help here!"_

Ase huffed and took several big steps towards the Hulk. She shouted a battle cry and kicked Hulk off Tony's back. "Then hold him down for me," Ase instructed.

Hulk lunged at Tony, but the man took his hand and threw him judo style. The concrete ground smattered into pieces when Hulk crashed to the earth just in front of Ase. She blasted his body with frost and pinned him to the ground with her force. Tony locked him in place on top of him. Hulk began wriggling free from their grasp, so Tony punched him with his automated fists.

Ase knelt behind Hulk's head and closed her eyes. This would be her first time performing an auditory illusion. The basis of illusion was to imagine something vividly and projecting it into reality, which was excruciatingly difficult for her because she rarely delved into realms of fantasies or daydreaming.

Luckily, she was a bloody obsessive fan of classical music.

She touched Hulk's head gently and replayed her favourite piece of classical music. The song flowed into her mind like a river, and she put forth her magic to her thoughts. It was a strange phenomenon. When she pushed her magic further, she could sense the distress in Banner's mind. There were noises, like a the chaos of battle inside his head. And as the illusion continued, the voices gradually died down.

Magically, Hulk's wriggling began to slow down. Ase opened her eyes and studied Hulk, whose eyes now resembled Banner more than the monster inside him. She glanced at Tony, who had opened the mask of his suit to reveal his rather battered face. Hulk's breaths died down, softened to a series of faint rhythms. Slowly his form changed as well, from the demon-like figure into the normal body of a scientist.

Ase sighed in relief and released Banner's head. The people around them could merely stare. Tony's brows flew high and he questioned her abilities even further. For once, he was really grateful to have magic by his side.

"How did you know this will work?" asked Ase as she slumped back, wiping beads of perspiration.

"Inception," Tony answered. Ase frowned. "It's a movie. You haven't seen that?" She shook her head. "I'll get you to the cinema after this."

Tony got out of his humongous suit, which reassembled itself into tiny metal pieces and flew back to the atmosphere. Brawling with Hulk was devastating for the environment around them. The magnificent city was now in rubbles and ashes. It emphasized the dire situation they were in. Ultron had accomplished his mission and who knew what he was planning next.

"We'll see if there's a cinema left after this," Ase said skeptically, pulling Banner up and began carrying him back to their ship.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello folks! I am still alive (but not that well). Somehow I managed to survive my exams with an inexorable weight on my mental health. Life has not been so forgiving and I am losing my self-confidence. That aside, I am now enjoying a well-deserved holiday, which means that I have all the time in the world to continue this fic. I hope I can finish it within the span of two months, so I need you guys' support to do it!**

 **Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed the fic so far. Thank you for reading, reviewing, favouriting, and following. I will see you around!**


	30. 0305: To Do Nothing

Winnie the Pooh once said, "Doing nothing often leads to the very best of something." Ase was even capable of believing the lazy bear's saying now, which provided just a glimpse of how hopeless they were feeling. She fell asleep immediately after she had reached the ship, taken over by the exhaustion after fighting the Hulk one-on-one.

She groaned and stretched herself. She checked the clock and found out she had just been dozing off for fifteen minutes. She studied her teammates intently. All of them were demoralized, their confidence marred and their faces sunken. Fortunately, they had awaken from Wanda's trickery just a moment after the Hulk was defeated. She dared not question what they saw, but she knew their visions were equally unpleasant. She imagined what would happen during their next fight. Next time, they might not be left alive.

The local government was undeniably furious at them for destroying their city, but so far no arrest warrants had been made for Banner. He sat uncomfortable on his chair, his arms and appendages bound with a durable fabric so he would not move, in case the Hulk dared to go wild once more. He told her he only remembered being knocked hard on the head and hearing deafening classical music in his head.

Hill suggested the team to move out of sight for the moment. The attention they had attracted would not be beneficial to them, she said. They obeyed her instructions and trusted Barton, who, much to the team's awe, had not been affected by Wanda's powers.

Tony rose from his seat and approached Clint, who was piloting the ship on his own. "Hey, you wanna switch out?" offered Tony.

Clint's gaze remained fixated to the darkening sky. "No, I'm good," Clint refused politely. If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time, because we're still a few hours out."

Ase stood up and joined the two people who were still 'alive' in the plane. "Where are we going again?" she asked. Clint hesitated for a few moment.

"A safe house," he answered quietly. He did not explain further than that. Tony and Ase withdrew and, despite sympathizing their aghast friends, they discussed the battle just before and what Ultron's next plans were.

"I can continue searching," Ase suggested. "I still have some energy left for several labs."

"No," Tony retorted, frowning his face in worry. "Now that Ultron has seen your powers, he will do anything to kill you. He must have returned to his base now and if you accidentally encounter both the enhanced and all of Ultron's bodies… It'll just be a suicide mission."

Ase nodded her head and understood his rationale. "To be honest, if the others… and _you_ included, face Wanda's magic again, I still don't know how to save you all."

"You haven't tried punching them real hard," Tony retorted with a smirk. For once, she understood his dark humour, and crinkled a smile as well. For several hours they waited, Ase drinking coffee and Tony fiddling with his suit. A few hours later, their friends were snapped from their daydream and asked for a detailed account of the battle. Tony and Ase explained it generously, though they did not receive a favourable reaction from all of them.

When the sunlight broke the gloom of the night, their plane found its true destination. Forests covered a vast expanse of their vision, with tiny cottages blotting some of the map. Ase peered through the window to see their vehicle landing on one of the houses, erected in the middle of a lush green field. The 'house' was too similar to an urban house to be considered a secret shelter.

"This is not a safe house, isn't it?" she asked Clint. He shrugged playfully and opened the plane's hatch, revealing more of the dazzling scenery. Natasha looked at Clint knowingly and Ase suspected she had missed something while she was busy considering Clint a co-worker.

"This is as suspicious as you are thinking," Natasha explained. Entering the house, without even knocking because of Clint owning its key, they were greeted with the sight of comfy rooms and even a fireplace.

"Honey?" Clint spoke. "I'm home."

A realization washed over Ase like a storm. She scoffed as it came. "Of course you're lying."

From the kitchen came a woman, an ordinary citizen, with no signs of secret agent training or superpowers. Her stomach was bulging with pregnancy, her smile so normal it confused all of them. She looked at Clint's friends and gawked for a few seconds. "Company. Sorry, didn't all," Clint said to his… whoever that was, though she presumed it must be his wife.

"This is an agent or some kind," Tony reasoned. Ase promptly shook her head.

"Gentlemen," Clint said. "This is Laura."

Laura waved at them and smiled awkwardly. "I know all of your names," she commented.

There were footsteps coming from upstairs. Ase chuckled in amusement when two children came into their fray—one girl one boy. They lunged at Clint joyfully and embraced him tight. Tony eyed the younglings meaningfully. "You didn't tell me about them, Barton," Ase said.

"Oh, he did tell about you," Laura explained. The girl now embraced Natasha, who lifted her and laughed, as if all of her problems were lifted away. The sight itself lightened their mood significantly. Seeing that an agent like Clint could still have a normal family somehow ached Ase's heart.

"Well, you were too serious back that I was scared you would kill my wife," Clint reasoned jokingly. "Fury helped set this up when I joined. He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files. I'd like to keep it that way."

Apparently, Fury had not been granting the wishes of special select men. She wondered where he was now, for she would certainly question him with unlimited inquiries.

As Natasha conversed with Clint's wife like old friends and the children began to admire their strange guests, Ase began to distance herself to think. Thor appeared as distressed as he had been when he had come out of Wanda's mind shackles. She studied him and finally approached him.

"What did you see?" Ase asked. "If I can help you need to tell me."

"Questions," Thor answered reluctantly. "Ones which need answers."

Suddenly Thor took his leave from the house, startling all of them. Steve and Ase looked at each other and followed hastily.

"Protect the others," Thor told Ase.

 _Why is he telling me this?_ Ase questioned herself, then to Thor. He pursed his lips but did not reply. He took flight immediately after, leaving nothing but dust and more uncertainties behind. Ase sighed and pressed her palms to her face.

Even though she had managed to escape Wanda's grasp, the dream still affected her. It made her question whether she was up to the task of protecting her friends.

oOo

"It's better if you talk to me directly, you know."

Ase glanced over her shoulder and glared at her unwanted visitor. He stepped out of a shadow and revealed himself as a dark-skinned man wearing traditional robes befitting Asian culture. The sun was setting behind the lines of lush trees, casting an eerie shadow over the man's figure. She leaned herself against a tree and folded her arms, assessing her opponent. He did not look intimidating by her standards, but certainly not defenceless either.

"My name is Mordo. Forgive me for following you without consent," the man said. "I've been tasked to observe you and report back to my master."

"Isn't any spy ever?" Ase replied with a derisive smirk. It certainly reminded her of the time when Fury had recruited her. "Who are you working for?"

Mordo hesitated. "I don't believe you know her, or us, but it's a courtesy to explain. I am a one of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, a group of sorcerers who protect this planet. The head of our order is the Ancient One, a very powerful sorceress who have mentored sorcerers for hundreds of years."

Ase swallowed the information part by part. One of her guesses of the man's identity was correct. He was a human, but not entirely so. The rest, she was caught by surprise. This group of sorcerers must have hidden themselves quite well, even from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s watch, for she had never heard them before. It bemused her how he also found her, although Clint had assured them that his house was completely undetected in the outskirts.

"So, you are following me because I am a sorcerer like you?" she asked further.

"I am, but you are quite different than us," Mordo explained. "We both use magic, but the results are different. The Ancient One is interested in your abilities. She believe we can learn from one another if she meets you."

Ase observed him from head to toe, then a disappointment marred her face. "If you are protecting Earth, then why are you not helping us now?" she inquired sharply.

"We saw the news," Mordo answered. "But your chaos is not our job. We deal with supernatural beings, beings from another dimension."

Ase scowled and paced towards him. "Who will you protect if the Earth no longer exists?" she challenged. Mordo opened his mouth only to close again, unable to argue against her.

"As a follower, I cannot go against the Ancient One's advice," Mordo reasoned. "We have our own codes, as do you."

Ase scoffed and looked away. She had thought knowing the identity of her stalker would soothe her mind, but it instead stoked the anger inside of her. She was grateful that she was distancing herself from her teammates, for she would wreak havoc if she encountered just a glimpse of Tony's irritating face.

Then there was this man, whose face was not as obnoxious but whose words added oil to the fire in her heart.

"If you have no motivation to help us, then leave us be," Ase hissed as she turned back. "You don't have anything to give me anyways."

Mordo grabbed her shoulder and she tensed. "We do, actually. We know more about the Infinity Stones than you do."

Ase staggered and whirled around. Mordo was no longer there, leaving nothing but a small paper crane. He was not lying about his identity as a sorcerer, and he was correct about their magic being slightly different. The energy he left behind was disparate from hers. She sighed and cracked her knuckles. Bowing down, she picked up the crane sheepishly and opened it. It was an address, which directed her to go to London. For a message, it was poetically delivered.

If these people knew about the Infinity Stones, then she should reconsider her decision.

"Ase!" shouted Steve. Ase ripped her eyes off the paper and scanned the grass field. Steve waved at her and beckoned her to return to the house. She shoved the paper into her pouch and rushed back to Clint's home. A sense of urgency on Steve's face, slightly blurred by the darkness enveloping the field, urged her to march faster.

"What's happening?" Ase asked Steve. He was smiling all of a sudden, not because of happiness but because he was hopeful.

"Well, there's dinner," Steve explained. "And there's him."

When Ase stepped foot into the living room, she gawked and formed a stupid facial expression on her face. The room itself had nothing wrong with it. There were Clint's children and his wife sitting at the dining table; there were tons of food scattered on top of the table; the team was lounging cozily on the couch; Tony was playing darts on his own—but the man sitting before her was definitely wrong.

Fury merely laughed with his usual boisterous cackle. She rubbed her eyes for several times before frowning. "Where the hell have you been?" was the first thing which came out of her mouth.

"In hiding," Fury replied. Ase frowned deeper. "Actually, I was regathering allies, little witch. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s down, but crime still goes on."

Fury took a bread and threw it to Ase. She caught none too gently and glared at him. "Your reflexes have gone rusty."

"I didn't spend my holiday killing people, for your information," Ase retorted. She pinched off a piece of the bread and chewed it with a scowl. She only remembered then that she had not eaten for almost a day, so the bread was a gift for her grumbling stomach. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help you clueless children who don't know the hell's going on!" Fury answered sternly, almost as if he was scolding them. "Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing."

Ase finished off her bread before speaking. "I saw more Iron Legion suits in Africa more than I remember Ultron flew off with back in the tower," Ase added. "I reckon he's building more suits to help him."

Her words demoralized the team further. Ase immediately regretted her speech and retreated back to silence. If Ultron made suits from an alloy similar to her staff, he would be outnumbering and overpowering them at once. And the bigger question was, how would he utilise his newfound strength?

Steve shifted in his position and looked at Fury. "What about Ultron himself?"

Fury sipped from his small cup, which appeared to contain an alcohol, and sighed. "He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though."

"He still going to launch codes?" Tony jumped in.

Fury nodded, much to their dismay. "Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway."

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare," Tony elaborated. Worry seeped into Ase's mind again. For a hundred times, she cursed the advancement of technology and its creators, who were apparently smart enough for Ultron to replicate.

"Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that," Fury continued.

Steve leaned against the wall. "Nexus?"

Banner stepped in. "It's the world internet hub in Oslo. Every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth."

"So, what'd they say?" Clint asked. His daughter hugged him from the back and he laughed. Ase's heart sank when she saw the innocence of the younglings. They did not know what was coming at them. Their childhood was worth protecting, worth shoving their grudges for.

Fury settled his cup on the table grimly. "He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed. By parties unknown."

Natasha's face brightened. "Do we have an ally?"

Again, the uncertain look which Fury had worn on his face emerged. "Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is."

Tony offered to go to Oslo to investigate their unknown friend and he received no opposition. Natasha returned to her solemn state and sighed.

"This is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that," she said with high hopes.

Fury quirked a weak smile and stepped closer to the team. Ase straightened her back to listen. "I do, I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world." Fury paused and examined the team's reactions. None of them reacted too well, particularly after their disappointing battle.

"Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard," Fury finished off.

Ase snorted faintly, not out of disrespect, but out of amusement. Rarely did Fury presented her with long motivational speeches like this. He would either forcibly encourage people with threats or speak nothing at all. But now he did not merely encouraged them. He rekindled the hope which had been dying inside the team. It made them believe that they were not alone, that they were built as the strongest team on the planet for a purpose.

"If the nuclear codes are out of question," Ase began after a long ensuing silence. Her voice was clearer this time, absent from anger and hesitance. "Then how is he going to destroy the world all at once?"

"Well, we know he wants to become better than us," Steve answered. "He keeps building bodies, as you've said, which are sadly modelled after his suits." He directed his statement to Tony, who gulped anxiously.

"Person bodies, actually," Tony further explained. "The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking. We're outmoded, but he keeps coming back to it."

Ase fidgeted as she remembered something. Ultron was smart, but he had no technology to support his means. He must find a lab advanced enough to build tissues out of nothing, and she knew who had that kind of machines.

"Helen," Ase said simultaneously with Banner. Colour was drained from her face as the name relentlessly echoed in her mind. The conversation with the brilliant woman resurfaced once more. She had talked about improving the human race by inserting genes capable of withstanding cold, granting superpowers, and—she desperately hoped the woman was not too smart to discover—the ability to perform magic. If Helen was able to infuse all those qualities into Ultron's new body…

"He's going to overpower us," Ase added in Banner's stead. "By then, I won't even be an obstacle for him. Not even Thor."

Dread washed over them like flood, but a barrier stood strong and prevented further fear from dominating them. Steve's face hardened almost immediately. "Suit up," he instructed.

The team obeyed instantly. The children were left confused by the sheer pace at which the team was changing from homeless, lounging intruders to fully-equipped agents with weapons and threatening shield. Ase wore her jacket quickly and tested her magic with a small snap of her fingers. Snowflakes flung into the air from the tips of her skin, bedazzling Clint's children.

"Are you a wizard, miss?" Clint's daughter asked dreamily. Ase looked down and smiled gently.

"I am and I am going to protect you all," Ase answered softly. Laura cuddled the children close and gazed into Ase's eyes.

"Please keep Clint safe," Laura pleaded.

Ase could not reply. There had been too many times when she had let Clint down, almost killed him even. She could never make a promise to save someone's life. The world was too perilous for such promise. The only thing she could do was nod and try her best.

Fury was leaving as well. He would be dropping off Banner on the Stark tower and reconcile with Hill once more. It was a short meeting, but his presence had triggered their courage once more. He acknowledged her briefly before he disappeared from the house, enveloping himself in his ever-enigmatic footsteps.

Ase followed Steve, Clint, and Natasha back to their jet, whilst Tony diverted paths to go to Nexus. All the while, she wondered where Thor was, and sincerely hoped his endeavours would help them turn the tables.

She stopped her steps when she saw an eerie shadow in the woods. She did not ponder further and continued to the jet. Her necklace suddenly felt warm. She clutched it as the jet took flight for another battle, praying that he was doing well in his own battles as well.

oOo

The cave was more menacing than reassuring. With its precipitous edges looming above them, the small pond could hardly be seen, but the light of the moon was reflected clearly on the water's surface.

"The Water of Sight," declared Selvig. He peered into the water, clutching the chest in his arm tight after seeing an ominous movement of the water. It unsettled him to visit this place, which promised knowledge and insight of the future. It seemed more like a horror misadventure than a quest to save the world.

"In every realm," Thor explained," there's a reflection. If the water's spirits accept me, I can return to my dream and find what I missed."

"Men who enter that water, the legends don't end well," Selvig insisted.

Thor brushed away Selvig's warning and took off his shirt. He carefully entered the water, the cold reminding him of the painful air of Jotunheim. He closed his eyes and bathed in the water for a long moment. Moonlight shone upon his face as if giving him consent, before he retreated back to his dream.

The sight was the same. He was in a palace courtyard, in a dark but hopeful world. People danced and reveled before him, unaware of the unfortunate fate they had been cast upon. Then the scene flashed forward and he saw Heimdall again, eyes as white as the moon, pleading him to save them. Thor shuddered when Heimdall shook his shoulders again, but the experience did not last long. Finally, something new emerged, but not entirely unfamiliar. Flashes of the recent events plagued his dream. He saw Tony with the scepter, he heard a voice speaking 'extinction', he saw a cataclysmic explosion laying waste upon the planet's form. He saw Ultron, standing above all the corpse of mankind.

Then something different emerged. He saw the Mind Stone, encased in the jewel sitting on Loki's scepter, shattering from its case and flying to the unknown space. He saw another stone, this time caged in an obsidian stone, breaking free from its shackles and joining its kin. He saw two other stones, arranging themselves together. Then he saw a ghostly light behind the stones, forming a knuckle, as if holding all the stones together.

Thor writhed in pain when the burden of vision began striking him. His body burnt in agony, his thunders running free to the sky. But the dream did not stop there.

The stones hovered away, joining two others in a circle. A hand clasped them altogether and pulled it closer to his chest. As the darkness escaped his vision, he could see that this new figure was not a man but a woman. A blinding light emerged from her knuckle and shook the world, the universe, and even Thor's mind. And in that flash, Thor saw the woman's eyes: red as blood, cold as ice.

All of it stopped at the moment he identified the woman. He staggered back to reality and breathed heavily. Selvig scrambled to his side and demanded what he had seen. Thor did not answer and rewound the last scene multiple times. The woman's eyes, her painful gaze.

There was no other woman with those eyes other than her.

* * *

 **A/N: First things first, I accidentally skipped this chapter while posting the next chapter in advance. So sorry for that. As of 6/12/19, this issue has been corrected.**

 **Anyways... I watched the Black Widow trailer. I love the music, curious about Natasha's 'family', though I feel that her movie is a tad bit too late to be released as a female-led superhero motion picture, with Captain Marvel being released earlier. Nevertheless, I will give it a shot, because who doesn't love a badass woman kicking evil butts? Anyways, thank you for reading, reviewing, and favouriting. Your encouragements are the best. :3**


	31. 0306: Stupid Smart People

"You good in there?" Clint shouted from the cockpit.

"Yep!" Ase responded confidently.

"When you're ready!" Steve added.

Slowly but surely, the jet's hatch was flung open and the vicious wind blasted Ase's and Clint's face. Ase leapt first from the platform, landing gently on of the roofs with the help of force-padding on her feet. Then Steve followed, his fall rougher but successful as well. They scanned their surroundings in search of Dr. Cho's help, which was right across the street. When they found it, they immediately jumped from roof to roof, and the jet took flight away.

The plan was for Ase and Steve to engage Ultron and his minions directly, whilst Clint and Natasha provided air support when needed. The wind rustled against Ase's ears due to the sheer speed at which they were moving, chased by time and urgency. Ultron could have completed his artificial body any time soon, and when he did it would have been useless for them to fight him.

The lab was conveniently unguarded, which suggested something worse. True to her prediction, Ultron and his duplicates had left the lab, though not without scattering bodies. Steve barged in first, while Ase checked the unconscious personnel for survivors. Most of them were dead on the spot, from a powerful energy beam right on their chest, but some of them were breathing. Ase snatched the nearest phone and called the ambulance, all the while healing the injured as best as she could.

When Ase entered the main lab—which was in a devastating state—she found Dr. Cho stranded with a large wound on her chest. Steve was by her side and she joined her. The Cradle was missing. A soft glow was emitted from her palm as Ase began closing Cho's wound. The scientist marveled her abilities weakly.

"He's uploading himself into the body," Dr. Cho stammered. "The real power is inside the Cradle. The gem. Its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up." She winced as Ase finished up closing her wound. Ase instantly rose to her feet to check the other researchers, who were fortunately still alive from the ordeal.

"You have to get the Cradle to Stark," Dr. Cho continued. "Go."

"I'll join you once I'm done here," Ase assured him. Steve nodded and disappeared down the hallway. Ase exerted more magic to the current scientist. Again, she wished she had focused more on healing than rambling against her mother.

"Ase," Dr. Cho said when Ase had finished with the last scientist alive. She skidded to her and knelt, expecting more wounds from the scientist. "Listen. Once you've taken the gem out, you need to destroy the body."

"Why?" Ase asked.

"It's because I've inserted some of your genes into it," Dr. Cho explained warily. "It's beyond human now. If it falls into the wrong hands, you may make yourself another deadly enemy."

Ase nodded in understanding and instructed Dr. Cho to tend to her colleagues. "Guys, I'm going in. Any news of the Cradle?" Ase spoke to her earpiece once she was out of the building. She saw Steve's signature shield and immediately caught up with him.

" _There. It's the truck from the lab. Right above you_ ," Clint told them. Ase searched the roads and saw a suspicious truck heading away from the lab. " _On the loop by the bridge. It's them. I got three with the Cradle, one in the cab. I could take out the driver."_

"Negative! If that truck crashes, the gem could level the city. We need to draw out Ultron," Steve replied. Steve and Ase climbed swiftly up to the highways. Ase pointed to the truck running on the highway below.

"I'll take out the driver," Ase offered. "You take care of the cradle." When they came to an agreement, the two of the took a leap of faith to the truck. A loud crash alerted Ultron of their presence, so Ase moved quickly and barged into the driver's seat. One of Ultron's duplicates was driving, accompanied by another who seemed to be its companion. It was funny to see the robots acting like human too.

Ase broke the glass easily and swung inside. Her first kick knocked the driver onto its companion. She gingerly stepped in as the wind threatened to throw her off the vehicle. A loud thud came from the back of the car, which signified that Ultron was now engaging Steve.

"Excuse me," Ase said politely before she grabbed the driver's head and froze it solid. She punch the driver and threw him colliding against its friend. Instantly both fell off the vehicle and rolled down the road. Ase assumed they would be back soon, so she spared no time to waste and quickly diverted the truck from the overpass. She also noticed that the Maximoffs were not in the truck. Shouldn't they be accompanying Ultron wherever he went?

"Barton, I've got the truck," Ase reported. "I'm going under the pass. Where can I meet you?"

 _"On the bridge, above the river,"_ Clint replied. " _Ase, I see the two robots coming at you."_

On the truck, Steve saw two of Ultron's duplicates flying back to the driver's seat. Ultron was blasting him with beams, while Steve desperately tried to block all of them using his shield. He threw his weapon to Ultron, only to miss terribly. The shield clanked on the road and disappeared.

Meanwhile, Ase finally confronted the vengeful robots again. They fired at her, but she purposefully erected a force field just around the windows to protect herself. Now they were no longer on the overpass and entered a wide road, surrounded by skyscrapers and office buildings. She heard discouraging grunts from the back of the truck, which told her Steve's battle was not going well.

" _My jet is being hunted by your two robots now,"_ Clint explained.

"Sorry," Ase apologized. She took a sharp turn down the main road and drove below the overpass. There was a train running beside the road, which was even more ominous than usual in their dire situation. Behind, Ultron began lifting the earth and throwing the concrete layers to innocent cars. Ase peered through the window and glanced at the rearview mirror.

"Rogers," Ase shouted. "You better shake him off. You're hurting bystanders."

"I know!" Steve replied. His shield was not in his possession, thanks to Natasha benevolently picking it up. Above, Clint and his jet hovered about, firing bullets at Ultron mercilessly before pulling back to the air again. The assault managed to draw out two more duplicates, resulting in four annoying robots constantly. He fired down two of them successfully, much to Ase's relief.

Ase tried her best to maintain her concentration with all that's going on. From the rearview mirror she saw Steve and Ultron suddenly crashing themselves to the train beside the road, making the truck lighter but no less a target of the robots. She also caught Natasha and her motorcycle riding very closely behind the truck. Instinctively, Ase slowed down to let Natasha enter the cargo.

"Thanks!" Natasha shouted. "Keep driving to the bridge! I'll send the Cradle to the jet!"

Natasha stared at the Cradle for a moment before she went to work.. She tried to override the process of building the body, but the Cradle denied her access. " _Guys, the robots are getting back to you,"_ Clint warned. Just then, two robots flew towards the truck, and dived below the cargo. Natasha yelped when suddenly the cargo shook and hovered to the air.

Ase almost lost control of the wheel when the cargo wriggled free from the truck. She glanced through the window and gaped at the sight of the huge box levitating in the air. The two robots had acted as rockets, carrying the Cradle away from the rogue truck. "Shit," Ase cursed. "Barton, the cargo's going away. I am of no use here."

" _Then help Steve on the train,"_ Clint suggested.

Ase looked around as she finally arrived at the bridge, though she no longer had the Cradle with her. Clint's jet was closing in towards the cargo, and Ase decided to entrust the responsibility entirely to them. After a bit of searching, she found the train speeding up not far. She gassed her truck and followed it. She widened her eyes as she noticed that the machinist's car had been busted open by an energy beam. She knew what would soon happen.

"Rogers. The train is not stopping," Ase said hastily. She pushed the engine to its limit and swerved away from the highway and to the normal road. She traced the train's tracks and found it ending just before a construction site.

Ase braked the car abruptly and jumped out of the driver's seat. "Get out of here!" Ase warned to the workers. The sound of the train reverberated in the air, convincing the bystanders to run for their lives. She then placed herself at the end of the track, rubbing her hands quickly and summoning magic. Her gaze met Steve's, whose face was drenched in horror.

"Brace yourselves!" Ase instructed. She lifted her hands to the same level as her chest and summoned her powers. Her force did not even budge the train until it was directly in front of her. She grunted when her hands received the brunt impact of the vehicle. People screamed around her while she was trying to stop the train. Her boots scraped the earth and she prayed they won't fail her.

The train slowed down, but not quite quickly enough. _At this rate the civilians are going to get hit._

At that precise moment, she saw shadows running from one corner of her vision to another. The civilians disappeared as well, only to emerge safely on top of a roof or inside the building.

"Ase! Watch out!" Steve warned. Ase followed his gaze to the building behind her. She yelped as her body crashed the building along with the train. She shook some debris from her head and gathered her breath. Her grip on the train was so powerful that she remained intact after the crash. Her body ached like thunder had struck her. Though there was no bleeding, but she could feel her organs throbbing painfully.

Ase tensed her muscles and concentrated more. She spread her arms and yelled. Miraculously, the train began to slow down significantly. She looked down and saw red energy enveloping the wheels. A loud screech echoed in the air as the train eventually came to a halt, swaying slightly to the side and crashing a nearby car.

Ase panted and dropped herself to the ground. Pietro skidded beside her and extended a hand. She eyed it suspiciously before grasping it. He was breathing heavily too, though he assured her that he was alright. Ase felt a searing heat from her feet and looked down. Her boots had been eroded down to the soles. She winced and looked at her hands, which suffered similarly.

The passengers streamed from the train and reached the giving hands of the bystanders. Wanda skipped to her brother when she caught sight of him. For a woman so young and innocent, she was very powerful beyond measure.

"Thank you," Ase whispered to Wanda. She did not respond to Ase's gratitude.

Steve joined a minute later. "Nat is missing," Steve told Ase. "But we have the Cradle."

"Where is it going now?" asked Wanda.

"Stark towers, I presume," Ase answered.

"He will take care of it," Steve assured them. Wanda's and Pietro's faces paled. Ase looked at them warily. What had changed their hearts? Although it was unclear what their purpose was, they seemed keen enough to join a megalomaniac robot on its journey to destroy the world. Perhaps Strucker's experiments had rendered them clinically insane.

"No he won't," Wanda said. Somehow, there was surety in her words, and it tremendously shook her pillar of trust for Tony. Ase knew she was not lying. Her eyes were sincered.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Steve defended. "Stark's not crazy."

"He will do anything to make things right," Wanda argued firmly. Steve stared at her for a long moment, then at Ase. She shrugged her shoulders and stretched her muscles.

"Stark, come in," Steve said. No one answered. "Anyone on comms."

"Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that?" It was distressing enough that now police officers were crowding the area to hunt them. Now, they were doubting their own comrade of his allegiance.

But it was a rational doubt.

"Ase, can you teleport all of us back to the tower?" Steve asked. Ase shook her head sternly, the pain stinging back to her brain.

"Your body won't be able to take it," Ase reasoned. "Deep inside you're still human, although all of you are genetically altered."

"Then how do we get there?" Pietro asked. Steve thought deeply for a moment then took out a very old phone.

"We'll ask for help from the boss," Steve said.

oOo

Banner believed he must be going delusional or at the very least insane right now. Part of it was because Natasha was missing, presumably kidnapped by Ultron as his hostage. Fortunately, the robot had not killed her yet, or else they must have seen her blood painted all over the internet now.

Another part was because Tony suggested to finish the tissue construction for Ultron's previous body. Banner continued to glare at Tony as the man explained the mechanisms of his plan. He revealed that Ultron's other enemy, the one who was fiddling with the nuclear codes, had been JARVISall along. Tony claimed that the A.I. was targeted by Ultron not because it was angry on it, but because it feared what it was capable off. JARVISwas smart enough to escape and scatter its memory across the internet.

"But not his protocols," Tony explained. "He didn't even know he was in there until I pieced him together."

Banner scoffed and thought deeply. "So, you want me to help you put Jarvis into this thing?" he asked.

"No, of course not!" denied Tony. "I wanna help you put JARVISin this thing."

Banner shook his head and turned away. "We're out of the field here. You know bio-organics better than anyone," Tony further continued.

"And you just assume that J.A.R.V.I.S.'s operational matrix can beat Ultron's?" Banner argued.

"JARVIShas been beating him from inside without knowing it. This is the opportunity. We can create Ultron's perfect self without homicidal glitches he thinks are his winning personality. We have to. I believe it's worth a go," Tony defended.

Banner scratched his head and groaned in frustration. JARVISpulsed peacefully behind him. "I'm in a loop!" exclaimed Banner. "I'm caught in a time loop. This is exactly where it all went wrong."

"I know, I know. I know what everyone's gonna say," Tony told Banner slowly as he approached him.

"Hell, it's what everyone's gonna _do!_ Ase's going to kill us!" Banner warned. Tony blinked and considered the possibility, which was actually a certainty. But he brushed away his fears and instead affirmed his decision.

"We're mad scientists. We're monsters, buddy," Tony explained again as he patted Banner's shoulders. Banner tensed when he did so. He did want to accomplish this project, but at the same time he felt as if he was betraying the team. Then there was Ase. He could only imagine her wrath.

But if this project succeeded, then they would have one of the most powerful defenders of peace on Earth. Earth can never forever rely on supernatural beings like Thor and Ase. Their creation could potentially live forever and watch over Earth eternally.

That was certainly a hopeful promise.

But Banner decided to take the risk. History had proven that risks would lead to victory. He nodded and received a grateful smile from Tony. Clint, who was overhearing their conversation, decided to go with the flow. He preferred nothing but peace in his life—the new body could well be his key to that. Knowing they had little time before the forces of opposition arrived, Banner and Tony quickly reassembled the Cradle's wires and resumed the process of tissue construction. All the while, they worried for Natasha, and feared Steve's arrival.

It was a strange thing, building a living creature. It certainly made them… feel as if they were gods, when they were not. Tony constantly shook off the sense of authority he had whenever he saw the body being reformed towards perfection. Perhaps this was what Ultron felt too: a sense of control over the creation of himself.

"I've found Natasha," Clint reported after a while. He had been fiddling with the radio to see if Natasha, too intelligent to sit idly in the cell, had been trying to contact them. And she had—a small signal from her radio managed to provide him with her location. Not surprisingly, it was in Sokovia.

Yet, the two scientists let his words through their ears as they worked towards the completion of the body. "The genetic coding tower is at 97%," Banner told Tony. He paused for a moment when he noticed something: some of the genetic codes were not human-like. Which creature had Helen taken these codes from? He gulped at the sheer and slightly frightening possible outcome before continuing, "You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes."

A loud thump came from across the room. Banner lifted his face and saw Steve, Wanda, Pietro, and Ase lurking in the shadow. Their expressions were none too pleasant, especially Ase's. Their presence was uninvited, for they had purposefully left them with no ride back to the tower. Perhaps they had borrowed Fury's ships.

"I'm gonna say this once," Steve declared.

"How about "none-ce"?" Tony replied.

"Shut it down!" Steve ordered. Tony shook his head calmly.

"Nope, not gonna happen," he replied.

"Stark. Only danger follows when you deal with the unknown," Ase added grimly. She was holding her staff, the menacing hell of a weapon. Banner was sure now she would kill them.

"Oh, we do understand this," Banner replied. "The question is you. You're sure she's not in your head?" Banner pointed at Wanda accusingly.

Wanda shifted in her place. "I know you're angry."

"Oh, we're way past that," Banner hissed. "I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

Steve fisted his hand, trying to suppress his anger, then approached Banner. "Banner, after everything that's happened—"

"It's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony intervened. Ase paced to the Cradle and placed her staff menacingly on the Cradle.

"Stop this," Ase warned. "Or else."

Tony scoffed and looked away. Ase frowned when he simply said, "No."

Ase glanced over her shoulder and nodded. Pietro instantly left his place and dashed around the room, plugging away the cables in a series of streaks and shadows. He stopped before the Cradle, wires and pipes in his hand, scowling at the two scientists. "Go on," Pietro remarked. "You were saying?"

Suddenly a loud bang came from the storey below. A bullet pierced through the glass panel Pietro was standing on, shattering its surface into tiny pieces. Pietro gasped when he ultimately fell, crashing the floor where Clint was standing. The archer pinned the enhanced down using his feet.

"Sorry," Tony murmured. He assembled his suit's arm and blasted Ase across the lab. She struck the equipment and her sight snapped away for a moment.

When he saw Tony was proceeding with the process, Steve threw his shield to the computer behind the man. It bounced off easily after destroying the monitor, but Tony had his hand fire at Steve as well. Steve tumbled to the floor and groaned. Wanda shuffled forward to help Steve, but Banner locked her in place and grasped her hands. "Go on," he warned. "Piss me off."

Ase cursed internally and leapt up. She formed ice bullets in her hands and threw it to Tony's arms. The attack pinned him to the wall, though she reckoned only momentarily. Clint was moving beside her, ready for his arrow. She could not believe this.

"If anyone else moves, I'll freeze you all," Ase threatened seriously. She promptly touched the cradle and purposefully let a bit of frost spread from her palms.

"You're not going to kill your friends, aren't you?" asked Clint grimly.

"Oh, no I won't," Ase retorted. "But I can still thaw you after. Stop the machine or you'll turn into ice for three hours straight." She glared at Banner and beckoned him to do as told.

Banner breathed heavily and released Wanda. Hesitantly, he took a few steps to the Cradle. He was right; she was keen in making sure his plans fail.

Then Ase flinched. She had noticed something. She failed to evade in time as a hammer struck her and sent her skidding to the broken glass panel. She grabbed a nearby equipment and observed their new intruder. He was none other than Thor. He stood above the Cradle, but his face did not show any signs of hostility.

Thor glanced at Ase briefly before summoning a mighty lightning from the ceiling. Ase dashed forward to stop his action, but Clint had thrown himself to her hips and dragged her down. "What are you doing?" she screamed.

Thor answered by channeling the lightning to the Cradle. A blinding ray followed and the rest could not see what had unfolded. They heard the computer beeping signs of warning, but none provided a glimpse of the current situation. Only after the light dissipated, Thor's lightning faded, did they see what happened.

A moment of silence was interrupted by an explosion coming from the Cradle. Thor flew to the air, hitting the ceiling, and thumped against the ground. Ase wriggled free from Clint's grasp and stepped forward defensively. A figure emerged from the Cradle, with red skin and markings not inherent of humans. She narrowed her eyes and tried to understand him. The Mind Stone was perfectly embedded on his forehead, and it certainly did not show any signs of falling off.

This, Ase realised, was not a robot. Nor was it a human or biological being. This was something else.

"Who are you?" Ase asked. But her question was not answered, for the being immediately flew towards the open windows, where the city was incredibly visible under the night sky. When she intended to approach him, prevent him from doing anything harmful, Thor put forth his hand to block her. He glanced at her again, this time sadly, and she shivered.

"He is studying the world," Ase realised in bemusement. The team continued to observe the being warily, pondering his loyalty in this battle. He had, after all, been made partly from Ultron's consciousness. The threat still remained inside his mind.

Once he was done studying the world he was born into, he turned to the rest of the team. His skin changed in the process, as if he was being covered by a suit and a cape made out of his own skin. The team approached him carefully, not wanting to trigger a negative response from this all-powerful creation.

"I am sorry," he said slowly, in a very polite manner which startled them. "That was… Odd."

He glanced at Thor and tilted his head slightly. "Thank you," he added. Thor acknowledged his gratitude, but was still unclear of the being's intentions.

"Thor, why did you create this?" Ase demanded. He sighed solemnly.

"I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its centre is that," Thor explained, pointing at the Mind Stone. Ase sensed he had more to explain, but he decided to keep the rest a secret.

"The Mind Stone. One of the six Infinity Stones," Ase intervened. The memories of Ase's explanation began to resurface.

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron," Thor continued.

"Not alone," Vision added.

Steve blinked and so did the rest who were not present during the reconfiguration of Vision's consciousness. He certainly sounded like JARVIS. "We reconfigured Jarvis' matrix to create something new," Tony recalled.

As Vision swallowed all of the accusing stares of his audience, he decided to defend himself. "You think I'm a child of Ultron, but I'm not Ultron. I am not JARVIS. I am… I am."

"I looked into your head," Wanda whispered. "And saw annihilation."

"Look again," Vision offered. Wanda peered into his mind and widened her eyes. Ase could not discern if it was good or bad.

"Are you on our side?" Ase asked tentatively, all the while watching the Mind Stone. Based on her experience, the Mind Stone was as equally powerful as the Tesseract and the Aether. It was, now a common knowledge, Tony's purpose to create a means to fight back Ultron using that power. But with great power comes great responsibility, and Vision might not have that kind of responsibility.

Vision contemplated, like a man intelligently thinking of the common world problems. "I don't think it's that simple," he answered doubtfully. "I'm on the side of life. Ultron isn't. He will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?" asked Clint.

"You," Vision replied. "In Sokovia."

"That's where Nat is," Clint explained, a glimmer of faith on his eyes.

Banner stepped closer to Vision and drew a deep breath. "What if we're wrong about you? That you're the monster Ulton made you be? What will you do?"

The company waited, too impatiently. Deep inside, they knew what they're going to do to him, although they could not calculate the consequences.

"I don't want to kill Ultron," declared Vision surprisingly. "He's unique, he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed." Ase flinched and looked at her feet. There was a time when such a man existed, seeking to destroy Earth and everyone else because he had suffered too much. She remembered him sacrificing all those vengeful thoughts for her and Thor.

"Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go."

The world shook when Vision handed Mjolnir to its owner. Forget about the impressive coming-of-age speech from the newly-born child, the fact that he was lifting Thor's hammer had proven that his loyalty was with mankind and not with Ultron. Thor received his hammer with a frown and joined the others in staring Vision.

"Oops," Ase mouthed, then cleared her throat. "Well, what are we waiting for? Sokovia it is."

* * *

 **A/N: So... I just watched Frozen 2 and realised, amusingly, that Ase was eerily similar with Elsa-having hidden powers, struggling with controlling her powers, and finally accepting herself. I was subconsciously influenced, I assure you, because I created Ase with reference to Loki's character and circumstances.**

 **Anyways! Hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for reading and I see you next time!**


	32. 0308: A Talk Between Magicians

Surprisingly, after the Sokovia incident, things returned to normal for the Avengers. Sure, there were several intrusions from the United Nations, who questioned the effectiveness of the Avengers as a functioning hero group, but Fury had seen to it, at least for the moment. The rest of the time was spent on tending to the homeless civilians, recovering dead bodies and returning them to their families, cleaning up the rubble from the battle, and funerals for those who had lost their lives. Pietro's funeral was particularly a sombre affair, for despite only knowing him for a brief period of time, the Avengers saw that his sacrifice and efforts had not been in vain, and respected him as an honorary member of the group.

Ase did not move as they lowered Pietro's coffin into the ground. She stood beside Wanda, whose tears had dried out, leaving red marks below her dark eyes. Ase wondered if this was how she had looked like when she wept for Loki's and her mother's death.

"Your brother asked something of me before he left," Ase said after the crowd had begun to disperse, returning to their lives or attending another burial. Wanda flinched, but did not pull her eyes away from her brother's grave. "He asked me to protect you. He cared for you until the end."

A long pause, but not for her to think of her next words. She had known the moment they left the remains of Sokovia. "I can't protect you. At least not from here. I will be leaving soon."

Wanda finally turned around and looked at Ase into the eye. "I thought you belong with the Avengers? They seem to need you now more than ever."

Ase managed to form a smile. "They do. The fact that the Infinity Stones are added to the game… We must understand what we're dealing with. And that's what I'll be doing."

Wanda tilted her head and furrowed her brows. Her confusion was understandable. With the advanced technology Earth currently had, particularly the Avengers, wouldn't it be better for her to join forces with her comrades? But Ase knew that the Stones contained powers beyond what science could explain. Her mother had proven it and so had Loki. To understand the gems truly, she must seek supernatural experts, delve into the realm of magic further.

And if there was anyone who was suitable for such task, it would be her. The question was, where to start.

"I think Pietro got his last words wrong," Ase whispered. "It shouldn't be you who needs protection. _You_ need to protect the others. You have powers beyond imagination, Maximoff. I suggest you hone it well."

Wanda stared at her hands and a faint red glow suffused into the air. "I don't understand why you call this power… a 'miracle' or sorts. It has destroyed people, instilled fear in them of me."

Ase reached for Wanda's palm and curled her tiny fingers together. "There are two sides of a sword. You need to decide which one you'll be." Wanda's bemusement grew as she wondered why this woman seemed as if she had lived decades of harsh life when she appeared merely in her twenties. Wanda tried to read off her mind, but like her previous attempts, hers was shielded by an unyielding force. Ase seemed to notice this and stepped back.

"Many people have done that before. Never worked," Ase remarked before she took her rucksack from the ground. "I need to go now. There is no time to waste. Please keep an eye on Vision for me. He might be on our side for now, but he's an intelligent being. And if there is someone who has a change of stopping him, it's you."

A gust of wind blew across the graveyard. For the first time since meeting her, Wanda noticed a necklace dangling from her neck—the colour of warm blood, emanating untold memories. "You haven't answered my previous question."

"You had many questions." Ase then slowly realised which of them was Wanda referring to. She pursed her lips and grasped her pendant, returning it back behind her shirt. "I love the Avengers, truly. But they have their own world, and I have mine. I am still searching for it."

As Ase's finger touched the cold necklace, she suddenly felt a spark of warmth. She widened her eyes, an inexplicable hope bursting in her. The journey she was about to take, she knew, would not be to waste. "Goodbye, Maximoff."

Just as Ase had quickly entered her life, she disappeared as well.

oOo

Ase sipped the last bit of her coffee as she made her way through the streets of New York. The city had been rebuilt, and people continued with their daily lives as if no alien had even had wrecked the city to pieces. A paper crane was held within her free hand, slightly dishevelled due to the battles raging outside her pocket, but still intact. She unfolded it gently and found a scribble of words, an address in a remote street of New York. She patiently strolled towards her destination, refusing to use any more of the threatening dimensional magic and displaying her powers to the public.

She found herself in front of an old building. One could easily mistake the building to be an abandoned office or an antique museum, but Ase knew better. She threw her coffee to the bin and approached the door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked the door twice, and waited.

The same man from Clint's farm opened the door. He did not look surprised.

"The paper," Mordo demanded. Ase handed him the crinkled sheet and observed as he blew it. A strange marking glowed from the plain paper, before the sheet itself burnt into ashes.

"Neat trick," Ase remarked with a scoff. Mordo glared at her and opened the door wide.

"It's not a trick," he said as she stepped in. The door behind her closed with a thunk, shutting herself entirely from the busy streets of New York. Ase held her breath as she swallowed the entirely new world before her. Inside, the building appeared larger than its exterior, with strange paintings and symbols marking the walls. They were all magical, she supposed, but she identified none of them from Rhea's books. Mordo beckoned her to follow him and she did, although her eyes were constantly elsewhere. They passed several sorcerers along the way, and they noticed that she was different than their normal visitors.

"The Ancient One has been waiting for you," Mordo explained. "But not here. The item you are seeking for is stored in Kamar Taj."

"Kamar Taj?" Ase asked. Mordo stepped through a door located in the centre of the sanctum. His presence disappeared entirely and Ase realised the underlying mechanisms of the door. She paced through it and was greeted with snowflake falling on her skin. The scenery shifted, from the dull-coloured walls to more traditional, wooden panels. She sensed the air being colder than in New York, though she was unaffected by it.

"Welcome to Kamar Taj," a voice spoke. Ase turned on her heels and saw a lady standing in front of her. She looked like a monastic, with a golden robe flowing behind her back. Ase sensed a powerful energy residing in her, though something bugged her about her energy—there was an immense strength emanating from her body, the one that all the sorcerers like her had, but something eerie and menacing hid behind the magnificent façade.

"You must be the Ancient One," Ase said.

"I'm impressed," the Ancient One replied. "It appears that your powers well meet my expectations."

"You've been observing me. Then you must have known what I am here for."

The Ancient One raised her brows and smiled. "Quite direct, aren't we? Patience, child. Let us talk over tea."

Ase did not protest as she was ushered into a small patio facing the training ground. Several sorcerers were training with their peers, their hands constantly conjuring magic circle from the air. Ase watched as another conjured a weapon, a sword, made purely from magical energy. She had never seen such spells in Asgard.

"Interesting, isn't it?" the Ancient One said. "The same yet different. That is magic."

"In Asgard we do not need to create such magic circles before casting a spell," Ase remarked, her curiosity becoming the better of her. She did not touch the tea. The Ancient One did not offer any explanation. Ase's eyes darted across the training grounds and suddenly lit up.

"Is it because of our different physical makeup?" she deduced. The Ancient One smiled and put down her cup of tea.

"You are very inquisitive indeed. You would make a great apprentice," she commented. "You are correct. Casting spells is very physically demanding to the body. Humans have a far weaker body from Asgardians and we cannot withstand so much energy channelled into our body all at once. That's why we channel our energies in steps, in magic circles, before we unleash them."

This talk was not for nothing. The Ancient One had long been observing this woman, from the day she emerged from that island and started her vigilante work here and there. So much potential laid untapped within her, but she guessed that without proper master there would be no proper apprentice. She would be delighted to teach her, but she saw that her path was different. The ways of the Mystic Arts would not suit her well, with her being in constant fight and all, and currently she had more important matters to take care of.

"You come here for the knowledge of the Stones," the Ancient One spoke. "And no mere individual can withhold such a knowledge, but I see that you are worthy, and I will grant you your wish."

Ase had only noticed that she was wearing a pendant, the size of a teacup plate. The Ancient One twirled her hands near the pendant and it magically opened, like an eyelid glaring back at her, revealing an emerald gem which glinted faintly under the winter sun.

"This is the Time Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones scattered across the universe. It has the powers to see the past, the present, and the future…" The Ancient One hesitated. "And to alter time itself."

She saw Ase mentally taking note of what she had said. With the goal in her mind, surrendering her the secrets of the Stone would not harm them. "There are six other stones and you know this. The Mind Stone, now on that strange creature's head, gives its wielder the ability to see, hear, and control one's mind." Ase vividly recalled the time when Clint was brainwashed by Loki. "The Space Stone, stored inside the Tesseract, governs the laws of space. The Reality Stone, in the form of the Aether, bends the laws of nature and reality, distorting shapes and physical states, and is even capable of illusions. The Soul Stone, nowhere to be found, has the control of all living beings."

The Ancient One's face darkened as she mentioned the last one. "Meaning?" Ase continued.

"Meaning… That the wielder has control over life and death itself," the Ancient One grimly explained. "Lastly, the Power Stone, the source of pure energy which can easily destroy civilisations." Her mood suddenly brightened up and she grinned. "We have a whole book about the Stones. You may borrow them, if you are willing to pay for membership fee."

Ase believed that this woman must have been so old, because her jokes were worse than Loki's shenanigans. "Does the book tell of how to destroy these stones?" Ase demanded solemnly. The Ancient One's smile faded and she was left to silence. This was a question she had asked herself in the past, one which she had no answer to.

"I believe there is," the Ancient One said. "But there has not been a plausible answer for that. Philosophically speaking, one can destroy oneself. That might apply to the Stones as well."

Ase rubbed her temples and closed her eyes to think. "If that is the case, then someone should have had destroyed the Stones a long time ago. Perhaps their powers do not allow them to destroy themselves?"

"Or the people wielding them," the Ancient One suggested softly.

"Like you?"

Afar, someone screamed in agony and Ase twitched. A sorcerer had gone down, and the rest were scrambling towards him. The Ancient One raised her brows as Ase unexpectedly rose from her seat and approached the commotion.

"Let me see," Ase told them, pushing herself through. Perhaps these people were sorcerers, but she was sure they were not healers—at least not those who spent their afternoons fighting in the open. The man's leg had a terrible gash across his thigh, with his bones slightly in awry positions. Ase mercilessly twisted the joints back together and that invited another scream from the man. Then she placed her palm on his wound and a faint glow breathed to her skin. The wound slowly closed up, and the sorcerers watched in awe as she performed the spell.

"I've never seen a spell like that before," the injured man remarked. "Who are you?"

"Now gentlemen," the Ancient One intervened. "I will introduce her to you later, but for now we need to resume our very interesting conversation."

The men merely stared as she was pulled by the Ancient One into the building. "I see that despite being an intelligent person, you are often reckless in your actions, my child," the Ancient One explained. "It doubts me whether I should entrust you with the knowledge of the Stones. But answering to your question, yes, the current wielders and the past wielders of the Stones have not destroyed them mainly because they are incredibly powerful and useful for the universe. If you wish to destroy them, you are depriving millions of their chance to achieve peace and prosperity."

Ase frowned. "It is the opposite, isn't it? Maybe thousands of years ago the Stones did not do any harm, but look what they have created today. Thousands had died in the Battle of New Yok, in Asgard, just for the sake of the Stones." Ase glared at the Time Stone, almost with a bloodlust, before continuing, "The Stones must be destroyed."

"And how are you going to accomplish that?" the Ancient One challenged, tilting her chin high. "How are you any different than any other wielder before?"

"Because unlike them, I actually have the will and guts to do it," Ase said. Her voice was lower now, swallowed in an ominous threat. She stepped closer to the Ancient One and glowered at her with her imposing figure. Mordo, who had been watching since the start of their conversation, shifted cautiously, ready to defend his master. "Aside from me, someone out there is searching for the Stones as well, and his intentions might not be for the greater good."

"And you are certain of this?" the Ancient One questioned.

"No," Ase admitted. "But I know you've felt it too. An premonition waiting to be revealed, ever since the Battle of New York. Loki wanted the Sceptre for a reason. He survived for a reason."

The Ancient One contemplated the possibility for a moment. She was tempted to use the Time Stone to peer into the unknown future, but she had done enough crimes to break another of Agamotto's rule. Her hands were bound by her duties and her code of honour. But she somehow knew, _sensed_ something big was coming. A terrible catastrophe, not only for herself but for the others.

"There are stories written in the books," the Ancient One began again, her voice almost an echo. "That the Stones combined creates a weapon more powerful than one can imagine, an artefact which can grant any wish its wielder possess."

"You need to gather all the Infinity Stones, and use them to destroy one another."

Ase's mouth went agape as she heard this. She had considered this plan ridiculous, almost impossible, but the greatest expert had suggested it herself. Her mind immediately ran through the necessary steps to collect the stones. She knew where the several Stones were, though she still needed to pave her way through negotiations with their protectors—which wouldn't be easy, considering the eccentric behaviour each possessed. Then there was the task of finding the rest, which would be anywhere throughout the universe. The thought already made Ase's head ache, even more with the aftereffects of the latest battle—she had pushed herself too hard to the point of depriving her brain from the ability to think clearly for several days.

"You are not alone, you know this," the Ancient One reminded. "Call your friends, your mentor. United you stand, even if it's just a sliver of hope."

Ase had wanted to leave her friends out of this, but it seemed inevitable. She grimly accepted the fact and rearranged her plans mentally. "In addition, you need to find a way how to store them together such that you can use them," the Ancient One added. "Each stone is stored in a vessel which protects its users from its devastating effects. You must create a vessel strong enough to hold all of them at once."

"I can figure that out, I think," Ase replied, slightly confidently. "I knew Asgard has decent blacksmiths. Maybe they can help."

"Ah, yes. Asgard," the Ancient One said. "Well, my child, if you manage to succeed in obtaining the other Stones, then I will follow your lead."

The Ancient One could virtually see the glowing hope within Ase's heart, as well as a fiery and dark determination. This woman certainly had gone through much in the course of several years. If she could accomplish this mission, she would be heralded as an unsung hero of their time.

"Thank you," Ase said, almost too sincerely for her own good. The Ancient One watched her leave, realising that she would disappoint her curious apprentices in the training ground. She dismissed Mordo almost immediately, her calm demeanour threatened by the rush of adrenaline from the exciting conversation. Then she lifted her hand, twitching her fingers just barely. The Eye of Amagotto opened widely, its green hue lighting up the dark halls. Then, she saw, and her heart sank.

"As always," she whispered as she shut off the Eye. "Our efforts will never bear the fruits we expected."

oOo

It took a while for the screen to turn on. Clint's face flashed on the screen, his face filled with worry.

" _Where have you been? You've made us worried!"_ Clint started, stating the obvious. The other Avengers heard this and quickly rushed to the laptop.

"Listen carefully. We cannot waste any minute," Ase explained calmly. "We need to find the rest of the Infinity Stones. I think there is a way to destroy them. Everything is written in the email I've sent Stark." Tony immediately opened his phone and seemingly read her email. His eyes slowly widened and Steve joined him.

"I will be leaving Earth to find the rest as well _and_ to investigate how we can use them all at once," Ase continued. "This time it will not just be Asgard. I might find myself in worlds I've never seen before."

" _When are you coming back?"_ asked Natasha as she peered through the screens. " _To be honest, we need you more than ever here. Ultron's insurgence has apparently inspired many others to rise from their hiding spots and rebel against the government. Your help can come in handy."_

Ase smiled forlornly, and she looked beyond Natasha's shoulders to see Wanda standing. "I think you have enough people there. You will do just fine."

" _Are you sure you want to go alone?"_ Steve inquired. " _One of us can come with you. Just to make sure things are okay."_

"Is anyone of you a sorcerer who can travel dimensions here?" Ase retorted back. She was met with expected silence. She knew that their apprehension for her was sincere—they were like a family to her, a family she must leave in order to protect. "I will inform you when I have returned, hopefully with good news. Keep the Stones save… I have a feeling that we're not the only ones searching for them."

" _Good luck,"_ Clint said. Ase nodded and turned off the connection. Sighing, she stuffed her phone into her rucksack—it would not be needed starting from now. She had laid out her plans carefully, with hopes that no significant disruption would occur along the way. Before she called the Avengers, she had called Elliot to seek for advice.

" _Do not let your emotions and past take over you,"_ was the only thing he had said to her. Ase pondered over it for a moment, admitting that recently her ability to think soundly had been compromised by her surge of emotions and feelings.

"Never again," she vowed, zipping her rucksack and walking towards the open field waiting for her. A new journey would begin, one which would start with her talking a sense out of a certain god waiting in Asgard.

* * *

 **A/N: Recently, I feel so blessed. The trailers for Mulan and Wonder Woman 1984 came out, and saying that I am excited is an understatement. I love both DC and Marvel, as well as Disney alike, and I pray that these two movies, plus Black Widow, truly succeed in meeting my expectations, because they represent many of my beliefs as a young girl. And now I am rambling, so forgive me (haha). Thank you for reading, your reviews have heartened me as I am recovering from a series of self-deprecating self-motivation. See you in the next chapter!**


	33. 0401: Turning Pages

**PART 4: REVOLUTION**

 _"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."_

 _-Albert Einstein-_

She narrowed her eyes, glancing left and right, above and below. Nothing had changed.

She glared at the Gatekeeper, someone definitely not Heimdall. He appeared more like a mercenary than a guard, his shaved head covered in tattoos and his armour scraggly and deformed. She prepared her staff, readying herself in position, as she asked him, "Who are you?"

"Whoa," the man said. "Easy. I am the Gatekeeper. Skurge? Never seen you here but anyways—I replaced Heimdall not long ago."

Ase was not convinced, tightening her grip on her staff. "Where is he?" she demanded. Skurge trembled under her threat and stepped back slowly. _What has happened? Has Asgard been taken away?"_

"He was banished. He defied the king's orders multiple times. He's no longer in Asgard."

The information stunned her for the longest moment in recent years. "What?" she exclaimed. It's true she had not stayed for long in Asgard, but from mere observations alone she knew Odin had a deep trust in Heimdall. He would not banish his confidant so easily, especially since the treason he had committed had been for Asgard's benefit. Calming down, Ase swallowed the bitter truth and sighed.

"Fine. No more Heimdall then." Ase returned her staff to its place and walked past Skurge.

"Whoa wait!" Skurge said. "You cannot just go like that! I'm supposed to hand over strangers to—"

Ase whirled around and glowered at him. "I am no stranger, for your information. My name is Ase, daughter of Rhea. Ask anyone in Asgard and they will know my name."

She was uncertain if that was true, but her words at least silenced him. Ase stepped out of the observatory and squinted her eyes as the blinding sunlight shone on her. The sight of Asgard, her second home, warmed her heart dearly. She breathed in the clean fresh air, filled with magic and power, and smiled softly.

This was the place where her heart belonged. Almost.

There were no horses around, so Ase resorted to teleport herself in short distances towards the palace. All the while, she observed any significant changes in the city, to confirm her suspicions. There were none—the people were still lively, the children running down the streets, the sound of soldiers marching through. It was as if the Dark Elf incident had not occurred at all.

 _To those who live for thousands of years, grievances must have been trivial to them._

At last, she arrived at the doorsteps of the palace. The guards seemed to recognised her and made no move to block her path. Ase looked around again, her suspicions dying down—perhaps she was over-speculating after all. The idea gave her a sense of relief and solemnness, knowing she would not be able to see him again.

But as she stepped into the palace, and saw the gigantic statue standing before her, its golden armour glittering under the sun, she took her words back. With fury, her heart pacing once more, she rushed into the palace.

 _Son of a bitch._

oOo

Loki growled under his breath and scratched his hair, or Odin's hair, to be precise. He lifted his head, expecting a beautiful view of the gardens he had so carefully refurbished to suit his needs, only to see stacks of ochre paper towering him like menacing mountains. _Why do I need to deal with so much paperwork?!_ he protested to himself. At these times he wished Asgard had adopted the documenting technology Midgard did, but doing so in the form of Odin would be outright suspicious—one of the things he hated the most was Midgardian technology.

That being said, it would do him no harm to continue reading from the garget Ase had given him.

Loki aimlessly flipped through the documents in his hand. Birger's letters stared back at him, his ever-polite words exuding the man's aura. Loki rubbed his temples and wondered how the Jotuns could turn from a barbaric civilisation to one of their most trusted allies; and how a Jotun like Birger could exist to begin with. Birger had done nothing but build diplomatic ties with Asgard, receiving funds and support to rebuild Jotunheim from the Aesir. Silently, Loki wished her could be like him, a wise ruler who had an unclouded moral conscience, just like his daughter.

"My king," a guard said as he appeared in the study. "You have an audience. She claims herself as Lady Ase."

Loki almost threw himself off his chair when he heard her name. _Why is she here?_ he thought out loud. After losing her mother and him, he had expected that the pain would be too much for her to return to Asgard again. But his guards never lied, she had never lied.

The guard perplexedly watched as Loki adjusted himself from his slouched position and cleared his throat. "Let her in," Loki ordered calmly. The guard retreated hesitantly and Loki waited, his muscles tensing at the sound of her light footsteps. When she appeared, he held his breath and his heart sank.

The long, luscious ashen blonde hair had been cut into jagged strands of locks merely reaching her shoulders. Dark markings under her eyes suggested a lack of sleep, which was worse than the usual ones she had.

Whatever she had gone through, she truly suffered.

"Ase," Loki greeted plainly, in Odin's face, trying to hide his dismay. "Welcome back to Asgard."

Ase bowed deeply. "King Odin. I believe Asgard has been well while I was away?"

Loki nodded and stepped out of his desk. "The damaged houses have been rebuilt, the people joyous again. It truly has—"

Loki choked as a powerful punch connected to his jaws, launching him off the ground and sending him to the stacks of paper. A resounding boom followed, with the sheets of paper hovering above him.

"YOU SHAMELESS PIECE OF BULLSHIT!" Ase shouted, the loudest voice he had heard in his life besides the Hulk's roar.

It took Loki a few moments to register what was going on as he struggled to regain his grasp on reality. "Oh shit," he muttered. Ase paced towards him and pulled him by his collar from the floor, her eyes swollen red. "Wait—"

Ase headbutted him dead on and every sign of Loki's illusion dissipated, erasing Odin from sight and revealing the true God of Mischief beneath.

"You think it's funny, don't you? You think that I will easily believe that you're dead just like that?" Ase threatened him sharply. "Oh, no, Loki Laufeyson. I've read so many Norse mythology throughout my life and not a single story of yours leave out any deception or trickery!"

"Wait," Loki stuttered. "Let me explain—"

Loki yelped when Ase smacked her had on his forehead again. This time, Ase did not speak. Loki blinked and slowly regained his grasp once more. He felt cold drops touching his face. Ase did not move, a groan suppressing the tears welling at the corner of her eyes.

"Why did you lie to me?" she whispered. Guilt swept over him as he realised what he had inflicted on Ase. Her last words before he 'died' reminded him that to Ase, he was not a criminal. He was not the God of Mischief, not the destroyer of Jotunheim. To Ase, he was just another person she loved. He felt stupid for lying to her, for doing his so-called 'redemption'.

"I'm sorry—"

Before he could continue, Ase had pulled him into an embrace, a very warm embrace. Had she been this warm the whole time, beneath that cold exterior? "Thank the heavens you're alive," she said. "Stupid! Do that again and I'll kill you!"

 _At least she hasn't changed,_ Loki thought. Ase slowly pulled away and smiled at him. A sense of relief graced him and he too, for the first time in a while, sincerely smiled.

The last time he had been this close with her was when he bid her farewell, and truly she had never been so beautiful. It is true that Asgardians or Jotuns do not age as quickly as humans should, nor should their physical appearances metamorphosise so swiftly, but her face did—her jaws more angular, her lips softer, her skin paler, and her shorter hair glistening gold.

If he told himself that he didn't want to kiss her, he would be lying to himself. But he dared not do so, for there was something different between them—a disparity resulting from his falsified death. He could not discern her feelings for him at the moment, and he would not force her to tell him so.

"You've cut your hair," Loki remarked hesitantly, reaching her locks of her hair.

Ase shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "You've grown yours." She stared at him, marvelling at his own appearance. He was not as handsome as other Asgardians, but he sure was more charming and melancholic.

"I think both don't suit us as much."

Ase let out a small chuckle before her face darkened. "Now, enough of the touching reunion. Explain to me… about everything."

oOo

Ase's inner self struggled not to pound her head against Loki's again as she internalised the bulk of information Loki had told her. On the surface, his deceit had merely protected himself, but she should have expected more from this man. His deceit was not without purpose, almost visionary even. And the story behind the deceit was wrapped in an even bigger incredulity.

If he was not lying to her, Odin had _personally_ given Loki the throne and the right to rule over Asgard before he mysteriously disappeared after Malekith's invasion. Loki dared not reveal his location to her. He was given a chance to redeem himself by rebuilding Asgard, and so far he seemed to be doing a marvellous job—albeit doing several questionable actions like building a statue to glorify himself. Nevertheless, he did a marvellous job, and the people lived nothing but happy lives after the ordeal. Ase believed that there must have been a certain level of trickery on Loki's part, but she could not protest further as she also deemed Odin as unfit to rule after Frigga's death.

"And you're saying that banishing Heimdall is merely a ruse?" Ase asked him as she picked up the papers scattering across the floor. The letters, much to her surprise, were legitimate diplomatic agreements and draft policies which should not have been in his possession if he were the same God of Mischief from New York.

Loki pursed his lips and nodded hesitantly, edging out the stack of papers in hand. "For what reason?" she further inquired.

"Both of us know that the Infinity Stones are too dangerous to remain in this world," Loki explained. "I want to find a way to destroy them. But I need to collect all of them."

Ase's eyes brightened when he heard his words. "Where did you know of this?"

Loki pulled something from under the desk and threw it at her. Ase caught it flawlessly and stared at the contents of the book. The familiar handwriting sparked the memory of gentle yet firm hands writing on the paper. "This is mother's handwriting… She's been researching about the Stones?"

"Under the orders of Odin and her own initiative," Loki said, huffing as he laid down the last of the stacks of papers. "I found it in her stash in the Head Sorcerer's Tower. She's written convincing theories regarding the Stones, so I doubt her methods would fail."

"But why Heimdall, of all people?" Ase asked, looking up from the book. "You should know that he is the Gatekeeper for a reason."

"His ever-seeing eyes are precious for Asgard's defence, I know, but it's due to that very reason that I choose to send him out. If he can see everything, then he has a higher chance of tracking the Stones with his bare eyes."

"If he overdoes that, he might need an eyedrop or two," Ase whispered to herself.

"What?"

"Nothing."

They were overcome with a necessary silence for a few minutes. "Has he found anything yet?" she further asked. Loki leaned against his desk and folded his arms, his expression grim and anxious.

"He has heard rumours of the Power Stone being used in the year of Malekith's invasion, but he hasn't found where it is located yet."

Ase flipped through the pages and found diagrams of tools and containers she assumed would theoretically store the Stones' powers. Rhea truly deserved her fame as an enchanter. Her diagrams and designs were impeccable in any manner, and she was sure any blacksmith would easily forge them with the specific instructions written. But each design ended up the same like the others—scratched red, denied as impossible, or simply being left out. It was on the last page which she found a clean, untouched diagram. A picture of a golden gauntlet, with 6 holes meant for each Stone engraved on it. Ase widened her eyes.

"I can't believe it," Ase muttered to Loki, noting the date of the journal's entry. "She has found a way to use the Stones at once over fifty years ago."

Loki formed a smile and nodded. "Rhea is indeed the smartest sorceress in history. I requested this item to Eitri, the king of the Dwarves, forger of Mjolnir, but he refused to make it, knowing its dangerous capabilities when fallen to the wrong hands."

"Well, you just need to convince him again, don't you? You're the Silver Tongue and you're the best at this," Ase said confidently. Loki blinked at her in disbelief, surprised by her absolute confidence and trust in him.

"I'll try," Loki whispered with another smile. This time, Ase really paid attention on his facial features as he did so. A strange feeling washed over her. She was not a person who considers one's physical charm, but she could not deny that all Asgardians were attractive, _really_ attractive. And Loki was on a whole different world compared to them. Looking past his questionable behaviour, he was actually a decent man.

 _I have loved you, Ase. This is my word._

She lowered down her head and unconsciously, a faint blush crept up her cheeks. Why was she remembering this now?

"Right. Anyways," Ase said, clearing her throat. "I wish to find the other stone, the Soul Stone. That's why I come back here, to inform you. But since you've had a plan in motion, I will just need to do my part. I'll borrow a ship, if you'll allow me, and embark out of Asgard where presumably I can find the Stones in time."

Loki stepped forward and in a flash she was in front of her. "Please don't do that."

Ase lifted her brows, then frowned. "What? You're protecting me now?"

"Is it wrong to worry for your safety? For heaven's sake I've seen you dying and I don't want to see that again." His words stung himself, and Ase winced for him.

"I'm not going to die this time," Ase assured him. "You have no idea what I've been through on Earth. I can't say that my experience was better than yours, but it did hone my skills."

"Nothing can hone your skills better than by fighting against me," Loki retorted.

"Oh really? You want to prove it? Maybe this time you will die _for good,_ " Ase shot back playfully. Loki scoffed, knowing that he was no match against her physically, though perhaps he could outmatch her strategically with a slight method of cheating.

Loki pursed his lips. Certainly, she did not need protection. Hell, perhaps she was the strongest woman he had encountered, but that did not rule her out from encountering more powerful enemies. He had seen one, a mad man who glorified himself as the saviour of universe. Loki had seen personally what he could do, what he _would_ do to beings as powerful as her whom he knew he could not get rid of so easily. He had experienced it first-hand.

But the pain he had suffered was not for nothing.

"Thanos," Loki whispered, looking away as he relived the agony Thanos had subjected him to. Ase sensed a turmoil within him and shivered. "Beyond the Nine Realms, his threat looms at large. I don't want you to meet him. I don't want you to _find_ him."

Ase finally understood. "He's the one, isn't he?" she asked slowly. "The man who wants to collect the Stones?"

Loki rubbed his temples, his exhaustion seemingly overtaking him. "I don't know for sure, but our conversations surely implied that he was planning so. But implications are signs, and signs are warnings of the future. So, I decided to take the action by myself."

"You sound as wise as Odin now," Ase quipped. "Maybe you can start to look like him."

"I am not jesting, Ase," Loki retorted sharply, taking her hands. "This man will do more than to kill you if he realises you are searching and knows the locations of the Stones as well."

He saw in her eyes a slight hesitation, the more human part of Ase. She was fearful as well, but that fear was masked by the sheer determination and will she had always had. Gently she placed her hands over his, and drew a deep breath.

"You know I need to do this," Ase said gently. "Because you cannot do it alone either. There is no other way, if you want to stop him."

Again, her uncanny method of convincing him worked. The overwhelming apprehension inside him melted down slightly, enough for him to accept her recklessness and inexorable fate.

"Fine," Loki finally relented. "I'll arrange for a ship for you by tomorrow. In the meanwhile…" Loki glanced around and saw that his ink bottle had been toppled on the floor due to Ase's assault previously. "But first, you need to help me to clean this place. I hate an unhygienic workplace."

Ase smirked and knelt on the floor, picking up the bottle of ink. Loki had changed, though inside he was still the same man who had almost killed her back in Helicarrier.

But she was grateful for that.

oOo

The Head Sorcerer's quarters had not changed much since she had last visited it, despite its inhabitant being replaced by a much older man whose wrinkles only spoke of his frailty rather than his accumulated wisdom as a sorcerer. Apparently, he preferred his own quarters and did not tamper with Rhea's belongings in hers even after a year of her death.

Ase lit up the candle she knew would illuminate the entire room at once—her mother had invented the candle many years ago, she had been told, and Asgard had never seen darkness since then. In an instant, Rhea's untouched books and journals were revealed, as well as the carved magic circle at the centre of the room. The calm light from the moon seeped into the tower, lighting up several magical tools lying on her desk.

She could feel her mother still living inside his room.

Ase glanced down at Rhea's Infinity Stone journal. Loki informed her that it was from Rhea's room, though she failed to ask him where. " _A little bit of fun treasure hunt, if you may,"_ Loki had said, much to her chagrin. Ase fiddled around with all the drawers, but found nothing as significant as Rhea's book.

After half an hour of searching aimlessly, Ase finally gave up. Rhea would not give up her knowledge so easily, she should have known. Sorcerers liked sharing their knowledge and keeping them at the same time. Particularly if such sorcerer was Rhea, who liked to invent and research on subjects even most controversial to Odin himself.

Before her, the grand magic circle stared back. She remembered vividly how her mother had first given her lesson in magic—one which almost destroyed her precious books. But if that was the case, why had she built a magic circle in a room?

Ase slumped down to the floor and crouched, examining the lines drawn on the circle. "It's a door," Ase realised. "But what is the key?"

 _It should be a spell. But what spell? A spell only Loki and Rhea knew._

 _A spell she also knew._

Ase stepped back and raised her hands, charging them with an incredible amount of force. She channelled it to the magic circle, which glowed fervently under the increasing pressure. But this time it shone eerily blue, unlike before, and the ground trembled. She almost tumbled when the magic circle opened up, as if machines had been embedded inside.

"As expected from the best enchanter in Asgard," Ase whispered to herself as she gingerly approached the chest. She lifted its cover and saw ten books stuffed inside: 9 leather books with written dates with 500 years interval, and a single blue book right at the edge of the chest. A small paper was laid out on top of them, reading:

 _To Ase, when I'm gone. Use these on your own discretion for the good of the people._

Ase frowned. The blue book caught her attention and she grasped it. There was no title or description, so she opened it to digest its contents. Her hands shook as she read the first entry, dating more than a thousand years ago.

 _November 10._

 _I have never encountered such a beautiful being in my life. As I held her against my chest, her frail body breathing softly, I cried. I cried knowing that this child would soon leave my arms, because our society would wish her more harm than good. I cried, knowing that she will suffer for eternity. I cried, because I will not be there for her when she needs me. But I knew that she will be alright. I know Ase will be alright._

 _November 11._

 _What is done has been done._

Although the second entry would be vague for strangers, its meaning was as clear as day to Ase. Her heart raced and she flipped through the pages, finding entries dating a millennium later.

 _January 5._

 _Elliot has opened her casket a few days ago. He said that she was in fine condition. I am truly grateful. He said they would be living in a secluded island, which would be best for Ase to nurture her powers. But I fear that she might discover her true heritage too soon. She will not be ready._

 _March 6._

 _Elliot said that Ase has been growing finely. She can walk now, I've heard, and even exhibits a small degree of my powers. I can't wait to see how fine of a woman she will become. How I want to be there and see her grow and mature. But Asgard's watch over me still threatens her safety… and I need to teach Odin's mischievous son, Loki. How painstaking it is to teach a boy. I just hope he will grow to be a fine man as well._

The next entry she managed to read skipped 9 years later, then 17 years, then 40 years.

 _August 20._

 _Elliot wrote to me a few days ago. He said that Ase defeated him in battle for the first time. How powerful my daughter has become, even without her mother. I am truly proud of her. Alas, I cannot tell this personally to her. And here I am trapped in the palace, constantly dealing with Loki's mischievous deeds and Thor's rambunctious brawls. If… Ase had grown up alongside them… what would it be like?_

 _February 15._

 _Perhaps hiding the secret has never been a good idea. I don't know what to do anymore. Will Asgard know? Has Heimdall seen her? If Asgard starts to move against her, then perhaps this entry shall be my last. Ase, I hope you stay safe._

 _December 30._

 _It appears she no longer needs my watch. Has she hated me all this time? Perhaps she has. Anyone will. I cannot justify myself. But now I need to worry no longer. Let me be the guilty one. I don't mind. I deserve it. As long as she lives safely and happily._

Ase's body did not move, only her hands which instinctively reached for the last page. There it was, the last entry her mother had written, engraved freshly with ink. The year was 2013, the day before Malekith's invasion.

 _All my life I have lived with guilt, with the fear of the unknown. Tomorrow I shall wait for the unknown once more. I fear for her safety, for myself. And I have had dreams, of terrible premonitions casting their shadows upon Asgard. But I do not fear them. I am content. I have seen my daughter grow and mature to become the strong and marvellous woman she is. I have heard her scream out her hatred and anger towards me. I have seen that anger subside as I teach her the ways of the magic. I have seen her eyes, no longer seeing me as an abomination like herself. I have seen love. Those are beautiful things, the most beautiful things I have seen throughout my life. And that is enough. I am content, and whatever happens tomorrow, I will have no regrets._

 _If you are reading this, Ase, know that you are not at fault. All of us are not perfect beings, and that's what makes us beautiful. Strive on, defeat the darkness. And I hope you have forgiven me._

A single drop of tear marked the last page. Carefully Ase wiped them off and closed the book. She turned around to see Loki waiting by the door, smiling sympathetically at her. She nodded her head, wondering if this was his intention all along.

"Thank you," Ase murmured. "Now there is nothing holding me back anymore."

oOo

The chest was heavier than she had thought. The ten books worth of Rhea's lifetime knowledge were as heavy as the responsibility she bore now. The ship Loki had given her was a small one, but he informed her that it was the most practical and fastest to handle for a single traveller. Besides the chest, she had not brought anything with her aside from her weapon and spare food in the ship. Ase had also discovered Rhea's invention—the observation device she had used to calculate the timing of the Convergence. Coincidentally, it could be used to derive any spike of energies possibly indicating the presence of Infinity Stones as well, which would be of much help considering there were billions of galaxies to search in. Money was not of the essence in the vast universe, only her street skills—something she had no shortage of. The impending journey would be perilous, she knew, with alien worlds and new enemies awaiting her, but she was ready.

"Last time Heimdall contacted us was in Sakaar," Loki told her. "The Grandmaster's lair, someone you should not meddle with. You can find him there, but if you don't, then Heimdall has moved on to new systems." There were no guards nearby, thus Loki appeared in his true form. Apparently, he had dismissed them for a festival held downtown. Loki presented her with the bracelet she had forced him to wear during his imprisonment.

"I managed to unlock it after you left," Loki confessed. "Certainly not easy, but doable, after reading Rhea's notes. Don't worry, this won't bind you at all. It's only a tracking beacon to confirm your location."

Ase raised her brows and accepted the bracelet. She studied it curiously before she wore it around her left wrist. "That's a comforting thought. Thank you."

It saddened her slightly how quickly her time with him had passed, just after she discovered that he was safe and sound. "Don't die," Loki pleaded. Ase did not answer him and instead threw herself to his chest. She squeezed him tightly and breathed. Loki wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Such a comforting embrace for two individuals who rarely felt true familial warmth. They wanted to stay that way, maintaining their touch, but the world could be so cruel.

"I won't die," she promised him. "And so will you." Ase pulled back and gleefully punched his chest. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm away. Or Thor will know what you're doing."

Loki chuckled nonchalantly. Ase paused momentarily before she turned around and braced herself. Fumbling with his hands, he watched silently as her figure slowly entered the ship. But before she truly closed the hip's hangar, she looked over her shoulder, straight into his eyes. "What you said back there. I hope it wasn't merely one of your lies."

Loki shuddered. He had not the time to reply before she disappeared into the ship. The wind around him beat into live, the ship leaving the surface smoothly.

"I didn't!" Loki shouted, knowing well that she could not hear his voice.

But he knew that she was, like him, smiling too. He would wait, wait until all of their ordeals were over, then he would say those words again to her.


	34. 0402: A Change of Course

**Asgard, 2017**

 _"Apparently, the Power Stone is in the possession of the Collector as well."_

Loki flinched as he heard the uncontrolled laughter outside. _Well, the play sure entertains them,_ he thought. He had arranged it solely for playing around with his name, but he didn't expect the people to actually regard Loki, the Destroyer of Jotunheim, as a hero. Again, influence and power were all he needed to change the perceptions of the people. How ironic that he had been opposed for the same reason.

Loki returned his attention to the person before him—or at least, projected by the communication device he was holding. Although the voice recording was limited to a short distance, Ase seemed to know that the play was at hand. " _You didn't do anything stupid again, did you?"_

"Just a bit of fun. You know governance can be quite stagnant," Loki admitted. "And have you talked to him?"

Ase sighed and rubbed her shoulders. " _I tried, but like his stupid brother, he couldn't understand any of our goodwill intentions. I'll leave the diplomacy to you. Now we're only left with the Soul Stone, and god knows where it is. I've been scouring the places and never have I heard any anomaly or rumours about that stone. Dead end."_

Loki could sense her distress, and fatigue. After her departure three years ago, Ase had not returned home. Her efforts constantly led her to hostile places, where good men were almost non-existent. Her messages would be rare during those times, and Loki would see her struggle against otherworldly thugs by the ragged appearance she always wore in her first holographic call afterwards. She encountered Heimdall four months later, and that gave Loki a welcomed assurance that she would at least have another person watching her.

Meanwhile, Loki's life had not been so easy either. Problems arose throughout the Nine Realms, including the threat of Surtur awakening his power and triggering Ragnarok. Fortunately, Thor was a free-labour and he had sent him a week ago to deal with the fire demon. Of course, Loki was careful not to confront Thor directly, for he feared that Thor would see through his deception immediately. Sure, Thor was stupid, but stupid people would eventually learn if they experienced the same trickery over and over.

 _"I need to go now. We've arrived in a different planet,"_ Ase told him. Loki heard Heimdall shouting at her. Her arms shot up in alarm as the ship was shaken by an unseen force. " _Asteroid field. Don't worry. I'll see you later!"_

The holograph zapped into silence. Loki closed his eyes, hoping that she could just find the bloody stone and return back to Asgard. His thoughts were cut off when he heard a loud thump outside. Curious, Loki stepped out of his hiding place, only to find Thor glaring at him.

"Oh shit," Loki muttered to himself. _Why now of all times?_ "Thor! Greetings, my boy!" Loki said nervously.

Thor strolled casually to the front of the stage, scrutinising the performance at hand. "Interesting play. What is it called?"

Loki smiled awkwardly as he pretended to drink from his cup. "The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard. The people wanted to commemorate him."

"Indeed they do," Thor commented brusquely. "I like the statue. A lot better looking than he was when he was alive though. A little less weaselly, less greasy, maybe."

 _Should have gotten rid of it a long time ago,_ Loki thought out loud. It took him by surprise that Thor was actually holding Surtur's crown like a trophy, a proof that he had completed his mission. Thor handed it to one of the guards and ordered the skull to be stored in the fault, all the while acting as if nothing had happened.

"I've been having this reoccurring dream lately. Every night, I see Asgard fall into ruins," Thor said.

"That's just a silly dream," Loki defended. "Now that you have defeated Surtur, Ragnarok will never occur."

"You know well that prophecies do happen," Thor retorted, a strange glint in his eyes which made Loki shiver. "And you know very well that your governance has slackened, quite _a bit._ And you know well that the Nine Realms are becoming restless, all except for Jotunheim, apparently. They said that your rule is weak, and rebellions are stirring. Why only Jotunheim, I wonder? And here you are watching theatre."

Loki began to lose his composure. "Look, son. This theatre… It's just a silly play to rejuvenate myself from all those… board meetings, security council meetings."

Thor scoffed and approached Loki with echoing steps. "Odin never neglects his duties even though he is exhausted. You really want to make me do it?"

Loki stuttered. "Do what?"

Thor sighed and threw his hammer far away. He then grasped Loki's neck and kept him in a deadlock. The crowd gasped in disbelief, and Loki cowered as he saw the hammer flying back towards him. "You've gone mad! You'll be executed for this!" Loki reminded him to no avail.

"Then I'll se you on the other side, brother," Thor suggested. Loki relented and cancelled his illusion, inviting another gasp from the audience. Thor's hammer stopped mere inches from his face before Loki writhed away from his grasp. From the crowd emerged Skurge, who tried to announce Thor's arrival, all the while being too late in his effort.

"You had one job," Loki hissed in disdain.

"Did Ase know?" Thor asked.

"Of course she knows," Loki replied sharply. "She always knows."

"Then why didn't she tell me?" Thor continued.

"Because she is smart and you are a fool," Loki argued.

"I doubt about that," Thor countered. "Where's Odin?"

"He's in an elderly's home," Loki answered bluntly. Thor scrunched up his face and paced furiously towards him.

"Did you kill him? Where's he?" Thor demanded. "You had what you wanted. You had the independence you asked for!"

"I swear he's in an elderly's home!" Loki shouted. "Actually, was it care home?"

Thor's eyes widen like a beast and Loki pursed his lips. If Ase were there, she would have laughed so hard that Volstagg's laughted would not compare to hers. Oh, how eventful his day was.

He really wished she was home.

oOo

The woman in question was dozing off in her seat, groaning every now and then as the ship navigated its way through the bland space. Heimdall did not speak nor moved as the pilot, which deeply disturbed her considering her life had always been a series of unfortunate events and catastrophes. Heimdall was too bland a man, almost like a robot in science fiction. He was a loyal man, and that had caused him to be as boring as a table.

Then she noticed he was observing something.

"What are you looking at?" she inquired, still slouching on her chair.

"I didn't know that Loki was Odin," Heimdall whispered. Ase jolted on her seat and sat straight.

"Oh," Ase chirped. Heimdall raised his brows.

"So you knew."

"Of course I knew." Ase scratched her head. "What is he doing?"

"He and Thor are heading to Midgard, it seems. They're in front of an old folk's home."

"Well, there goes his period of governance," Ase sighed, though it was not unexpected. Sooner or later Thor would find out about his deception, and it would always result the same. Ase dragged her attention to the book placed on the control panel, the oldest of Rhea's journals. Reading through those volumes were inexplicable pain, especially in the midst of evading numerous galactic terrorists and smugglers who wished to target her head after she had pissed off several mobs in different planets. Three years. She took three bloody years to read a mere ten books. That was a great disgrace for her, whose entire life was dedicated on reading dusty books and web articles.

She reached for it and slowly flipped through the pages. All seemed to be similar to other journals—depictions of past wars Asgard had been involved in, her strange discoveries as a seemingly young sorceress thousands of years ago, and life in Asgard. However, a name frequented this journal which was not found in the others.

"Heimdall, who's Hela?" Rhea asked.

"If that journal dates back from Rhea's younger days, then I cannot give you an answer," Heimdall explained. "I was born after she has become the Head Sorceress. The history of Asgard before that was widely unknown."

"As if it is purposefully being hidden," Ase murmured. Ase scanned through text intently, and something clicked in her mind. She reread her mother's handwriting over and over, doubting the truth in her entries. But Rhea rarely lied in her journals, and this was no exception either. There was a reason why Rhea hid her journals inside that chest, protected by the unbreakable magic circle, for the entirety of her existence. It was not merely because of her inventions.

 _After painstaking research and study, Odin and I managed to devise a plan to lock away Hela once and for all. He used his life force and threw Hela into the Hel, where my seal kept the doors closed for as long as Odin lived. And so, Hela, firstborn of Odin, the Goddess of Death, remained silent for the rest of the years._

 _Odin acknowledged my efforts and granted me the title of the Head Sorceress, and I have maintained my watch over Hela ever since._

"Heimdall," Ase said as he nudged him, without lifting her eyes from the book. "Since when has Thor had an elder sister?" Heimdall did not answer. Ase dragged her eyes from the book to Heimdall. Instantly she knew something was wrong. Behind the universe reflected on his eyes was darkness and abyss. And the shadow cast upon his visage was as clear as the day.

A shiver ran down Ase's spine, the kind which triggered dread and fear in her. "What happened?" she inquired.

"Odin has passed from the realms of the living," Heimdall whispered solemnly as he closed his eyes. "Bless my heart."

Ase covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her shock. Whilst Odin was old enough to die, she had not expected him to pass in these times of need. The universe seemed to stop revolving for a split moment, as if mourning for his passing. Ase too, albeit harbouring a certain degree of hatred towards him, grieved for his disappearance from the world.

"Thor and Loki were with him, I believe," Heimdall continued, finally courageous enough to open his eyes. "How I wished not only to watch, but to listen as we—"

Heimdall leaned forward and squinted his eyes. Something told her that a twist of events had occurred, a _terrible_ twist. "Someone emerged from the air, or a portal, before Thor and Loki," Heimdall reported, his voice filled with anxiety.

Ase's nerves tensed up. "Where did they come from?"

"She looks like an Aesir," Heimdall added, his eyes twitching here and there, as if scanning across the universe. "I sensed a strong pulse coming from Hel."

The journal in Ase's hands suddenly felt heavier. "Hela," she realised. "Firstborn of Odin."

"What?" Ase threw Heimdall Rhea's journal whilst she bit her thumb and retreated into silence. From what she's read, briefly so, from her mother's journal, Hela was the epitome of evil in Asgard. She had killed thousands, millions even, in order to conquer the remaining of the Nine Realms. Of course, this bit of information was locked away from history books—it signified the fall of Asgard's royal family from millennia ago. Heimdall's disbelief matched hers. It was a matter of fortune that she discovered this.

Her mind darted here and there, trying to decide their next course of action. Hela would harm Asgard, especially since its people had grown accustomed to peace and rebelled strongly against the idea of Asgard being the sole ruler of the Nine Realms. "We need to return to Asgard," Heimdall spoke, his hands fiddling with the control panel without Ase's consent.

"We haven't finished our mission yet," Ase reasoned. "The Soul Stone—"

"As much as I want to ensure the safety of the universe, Asgard still comes first," Heimdall argued sharply. "My loyalties are with Asgard. If Asgard is doomed, then this mission has no purpose at all. There will be no one to save anymore."

The objective part of Ase's consciousness argued that Asgard was just a speck of dust in the universe, but her moral conscience forced her to side with him. Additionally, the Space Stone was in Asgard, and everything could go awry if Hela had her hands on that artefact.

"How far is Asgard?" Ase asked, shifting their ship's course back to Asgard. "And what is Hela currently planning?"

The ship thrummed into life before it leapt into hyperspace jump. "I saw her last time entering the Bifrost ray along with Thor and Loki. It shall not bode well. "One hour. That's the fastest we can get, while depleting our fuels."

"Can we use Dark Magic?" Ase suggested, though her mind rebelled at the thought after experiencing the dire consequences of using it first-hand. Heimdall's expression paled.

"With this distance? It will kill you, even if another casts the spell in your stead," Heimdall explained. "We have no other choice but to wait."

oOo

The experience of being kicked off the Bifrost Bridge in the midst of teleportation was definitely surreal and nauseating. What happened before then? Ah, yes. Odin bid his farewell with both of his sons and disappeared into thin air as a sparkly gold dust. Then out of nowhere Hela emerged, not resembling any of her parent, smiling eerily before she destroyed Thor's Mjolnir and joining them in their journey through the Bridge. She had struck him dead on the head, throwing him off-course and launching him to this unknown world.

He landed on a huge, smelly landfill.

"For heaven's sake," Loki cursed under his breath. The universe always had a way of throwing a series of calamities at him at the same time. He groaned amongst the rubble and scraps of deformed machines before rising up like a corpse straight from the grave. He glanced around, fumbling with his pocket in search for his communicator with Ase. Around him were similar garbage mountains, full of unwanted metals and strange-looking devices. There was only a single place with this kind of landscape, which was worse than Midgard.

"Sakaar," he muttered. "Well, what are the odds?" The communicator, the shape of a small disc the size of his hand, was fortunately not damaged, though slightly bent. He began calling Ase whilst contemplating for his next crucial steps. He had no resources to help him transport himself back to Asgard on the forsaken garbage planet, nor the connections to secure a simple ship to escape. Yet.

The hologram flickered as Ase answered the call. From the look of her face and the crease of her browse, she seemingly knew what was going on. _"Bloody hell has Odin hid many things,"_ was the first few words she blurted out. _"And Rhea as well."_

"Hela is in Rhea's book?" Loki incredulously. Rhea nodded and flipped several pages of Rhea's oldest journal in front of him.

" _She even lists down Hela's abilities, exploits, and past relationships in her book,"_ Ase explained. There was certainly an abundance of information regarding a single person in Rhea's entries. There were even pictures—bloody illustrations—depicting Hela's battles against other realms… With _Odin._ He couldn't believe it. It was outrages to the point of silly.

"It seems my nature of hiding things roots from these two," Loki admitted, letting out an exhausted breath. "She doesn't have any good intention, I tell you. Her desire to conquer is worse than mine." Ase seemed hesitant to agree with him. Perhaps to her, conquerors and dictators were all the same—villains ready to be taken down by her fists. "You said she has weaknesses?"

Ase frowned. " _No, she doesn't. Rhea personally said, quote, 'I may be the most powerful sorceress in Asgard but not the deadliest. Hela cannot compare with me, even Odin, if we were isolated alone.' They ended up working together to seal away Hela, but with Odin gone I doubt that we're able to lock her away once more."_ Ase scrunched up her face and leaned back in disgust. " _Where the hell are you?"_

"Well, the description seems fitting. I am in Sakaar," Loki revealed. Ase groaned in disgust, remembering the last time she was in the garbage planet. She had told him that she walked out feeling as dirty as the piles of trash covering the planet.

" _Right. Can you get out of there?"_ Ase asked.

"It will take time," Loki sighed. If Ase had had difficulties negotiating with the people there, even with her considerable diplomacy skills, it wouldn't go as easily as him as well. He had thought of using Dark Magic as a substitute of the lengthy negotiations, but he was not gifted with the ability to withstand all the Bifrost magic by himself.

" _You better do that soon,"_ Ase adviced sternly. " _I am returning to Asgard, to protect the people. I'll be arriving soon. Hopefully not too late to stop Hela."_

Loki almost fell from the pile of garbage after hearing her revelation. "You're going to go toe to toe against Hela? Ase, you'll kill yourself you stupid woman! Hela destroyed Mjolnir as easy as cracking a nut!"

" _I heard that,"_ Ase replied calmly. " _Right now the people are of utmost importance. I may not be able to defeat her by any means, but my skillset is more suitable in halting her advances. Listen, for now focus on escaping Sakaar and reaching Asgard. I'll still contact you through the communicator, so don't lose it."_

And then it was; the chill creeping up his veins. Loki grasped his arm in alarm, and glanced around with his dagger in tow. There was nothing around him. What was that terrible feeling?

Before Loki realised it, Ase had cut off her connection with him. He wanted to scream at her for being so reckless, for abandoning his orders to retrieve the Stones. She of all people should know that the Stones were the top priority. Hela could come later—

 _Wait. Isn't the Space Stone in Asgard?_

Now Loki wanted to scream at his own stupidity.

oOo

Heimdall literally crash-landed them on the waters near the Observatory. Ase coughed as smoke billowed from the fractured engines, shaking her head to snap her attention back. Heimdall wheezed beside her, raising a thumb up to applaud for his miserable piloting skills. They had run out of fuel just several minutes before, forcing them to nose-dive straight into Asgard's atmosphere, but their journey had been cut off by 10 minutes. Ase readied her staff and pulled Heimdall out from his seat. Her grey coat fluttered in the wind as she swallowed the scenery of Asgard once more. Three years had passed like a split second in the search for the Stones. She was not back to where it all had started.

"Any sight of the enemy?" Ase asked.

"She's heading for the palace," Heimdall reported. "She sure takes her time even with her capabilities in magic."

Ase shivered at the thought. Throughout the course of 50 minutes, Ase had gobbled up anything about Hela. Goddess of Death, she was called, the most deadly sorceress of her era who had never used anything other than her abilities to procure an arsenal of blades from thin air and revive the dead. But her ability to detect magic was a surety despite this, and using any carelessly would alert her of their presence.

"The soldiers of Asgard are gathering to fight Hela," Heimdall reported as Ase grabbed his arm and launched themselves up from the waters with her feet propelling the necessary force.

"They are going to kill themselves," Ase predicted. Heimdall was no longer by her side. "Wait, where are you going?"

Heimdall was rushing into the Observatory. Ase could not help but follow him. Ase could not breath when she saw the scene of massacre unfolding in front of her. Bodies littered the floor, dark blades plunging their chests. Familiar faces greeted her and her every inch of courage was drained to the bones.

"Fandrall, Volstagg," Ase muttered, kneeling beside her two deceased comrades. They had not fallen without giving a fight, she knew, but to seemingly die so easily… Hela was far from formidable—she was unbeatable. "Heimdall, we need to hurry. Otherwise more will end like them."

"I know," Heimdall replied, though he still lingered and paced towards his sword. He pulled it from the lock, shutting down the Bifrost Bridge entirely. "We don't want Hela to get out of Asgard. Let's go."

Ase extended her hand and let him grasp it. In an instant their surroundings faded away, phasing into numerous colours indiscernible by the normal eye. The usual aftereffects did not bother her as Ase thought of their new despicable enemy.

Fandrall had been such a sweet man, although his advances could not budge her stern personality into being attracted to him. But he was one of her few memorable friends.

Volstagg was the epitome of a clown brute, the typical dwarf character she liked to read in fantasy books except for his gigantic figure. He always forced beer into her mouth, which distasted her, but she enjoyed his courtesy. He was one of the most exciting friends to be with.

Now they are no more.

Ase gritted her teeth, her anger burning her veins. She had lost many friends in her battles, and like all of them, Hela would certainly pay the price.

* * *

 **A/N: Merry belated Christmas everyone! I've been experiencing a writer's block these days and cannot procure a single word or summon the motivation to write. Hopefully I can break free from this periodical, mind-numbing condition. I will be posting another chapter in the new year's, if my mind cooperates with me :) Have a good holiday everyone and once again, thank you for reading!**


	35. 0403: Battle Royale

For millennia she had spent her days in darkness, chained in the suffocating world of the Dead, waiting for Odin to finally perish from the world. She could not observe the events in Asgard or any other place in the Nine Realms, but she heard things. She heard the whispers of the dead, of wars waged against Jotunheim, of an uprising from Odin's very own son, a catastrophe in Midgard, a band of heroes. Those were merely whispers, but they were enough to tell her that the Nine Realms still needed _saving._

And she would be their one sole saviour, saving them from themselves.

Indeed, even after thousands of years, the world remained the same. Asgard, she observed, remained weak and small, its soldiers complacent and ignorant of the dangers looming over them. Hell, even the sorcerers did not notice her arrival and passing amongst the ordinary citizens. During her days, sorcerers would flock around her when she merely stepped foot on Asgard. She was admired, marvelled by each and every Asgardian sorcerer. Except for one.

"It appears that Rhea is dead as well," Hela deduced coldly. Beside her, Skurge tensed up and glued his eyes on the floor. "Such a pity. I wanted to be the one who kills her. But I think I should thank the person who takes over the dirty work of killing her. She's such a pain."

Hela turned her attention to her enemies. Lines of Asgardian soldiers rooted themselves on the ground, ready to defend the city from her. Behind the front lines were the sorcerers, their eyes flaring in ferocity, hands glowing with fire. She counted. "What in the world happened to the Court Sorcerers while I was gone?" Did Rhea slack off?" she asked, her question directed to the Court Sorcerers themselves.

No response. "It has come to my attention that you don't know who I am," Hela added. Had she been gone that long? Or had Odin and Rhea invented a spell to wipe out the memories of the Asgardians regarding the glories of the olden days?

"I am Hela," she announced, hands on her hips. "Odin's firstborn. The commander of the Legions of Asgard, the rightful heir to the throne, and the Goddess of Death."

Much to her disdain, the soldiers readied their spears upon hearing her name. Their commander, a stern-looking Vanir, frowned deeper. "My father is dead," Hela explained, feeling mocked by this clear act of disrespect. "As are the princes. You're welcome. We were once the seat of absolute power in the Cosmos, our supremacy was unchallenged. Yet Odin stopped at Nine Realms. Our destiny is to rule over all others. And I am here to restore that power."

"Kneel before me and rise into the ranks of my great conquest."

The Vanir shifted. "Whoever you are, whatever you've done, surrender now! Or we will show you no mercy," he declared.

Hela grumbled under her breath. Had her people gone stupid. "Whoever I am? Did you listen to a word I said?" No, he had heard it, word by word. Now it was as clear as day that they would not accept her simply as the queen. Her people were different now. They were not as obedient as before. Something had happened which honed their senses and resilience against authority.

"This is your last warning!" the Vanir threatened. He took out his mace, and the soldiers too straightened their stances. Hela shook her head, slightly pitying them for their stupidity.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me," Hela sighed. "Fine." Hela lifted her arms and combed her raven hair. Horns formed from the tips of her locks, shaping her head like a crown fitting for a queen. The Vanir charged forward, raising his weapon at her. Hela summoned a blade from her arms, twisting his mace away from her face. She toppled each of his attacks with ease before she found a blatant opening and kicked him on the chest. "Is this Asgard's current commander? Such an embarrassment!"

Hela whirled around to face the rest of the army. Despite seeing their commander fallen, they still marched at her with ferocious spirit. Hela leapt from the ground and threw several of her blades at the nearest soldiers, puncturing their hearts and killing them instantly. Blood splattered the ground as more and more of the soldiers fell from her sword, but their determination did not recede upon seeing their dead comrades. Several airships fired at her.

Hela grunted in annoyance as she defended herself using her cape. With a powerful swing, she launched her swords at the airships, bringing all of them down at once. How many men were inside? Even though Hela saw killing the soldiers as nothing but a daily habit, she still pitied the unnecessary wastage of manpower for her future conquest against the Nine Realms.

"STAND BACK!"

The voice was pure and sonorous, like the sound of the bell ringing in the air. That voice was followed by a sharp wheezing sound, wrapped in magic so powerful her skin shivered slightly. Hela looked up towards the sky, wondering what this new threat was. Before she could assess the situation, a powerful force landed in front of her and cast her high into the air. A resounding crack of the earth followed, uplifting the earth and rupturing the ground.

Hela twisted her body mid-air and landed softly on the even marble floor. Smoke billowed from the gaping hole before her, created by nothing other than a single staff. She knew the staff, crafted by the Dwarves thousands of years ago, but never used. The Forgotten Staff—claimed as 'weak' and useless in wars, never finding anyone who could wield it properly—had just broke up the surface of the earth and threw her off her feet.

Out of the smoke she made out an image. Golden-haired, tall figure, with body constantly emanating magic, force magic. _Rhea?_ she thought. _But that can't be. She's dead!_

But as the smoke dissipated, Hela finally had an unobstructed few of this new challenger. A young woman, skin as pale as the moon and hair as dim as a dying flower, braided behind her back. Her clothing was nothing Asgardian; a light-grey trench coat with a grey shirt underneath, coupled with black trousers and boots which made her look like a Marauder rather than an Aesir. Then her necklace caught her eye—a pendant the colour of blood, radiating an eerie energy from within. This woman looked uncannily similar to Rhea, while at the same time digressing far from her features.

"Who are you?" Hela demanded. "Another reckless Asgardian soldier?"

The staff flew back to the woman's hands and she tapped the ground with it. "Not a soldier," she declared. "A warrior, if you may."

"What's the difference?" Hela scoffed. "Just like them, you think you can defeat me." The other soldiers, she observed, began retreating. This woman seemed to command a significant power over the army. But Hela had not heard of her, even from her new henchman Skurge.

"I don't think. I do," the woman corrected calmly. _This woman has little to no weak points,_ Hela thought.

"You haven't answered my question," Hela said, trying to distract her, playing with her own blades. Apparently this woman was giving time for the soldiers to escape. She raised a brow in return.

Hela's desire to inflict harm on her outgrew her patience. With a flick of her hands, she launched a dozen of blades towards the woman. But the woman did not budge and instead stood still and swept staff in front of her. With a gust of wind all the blades returned to Hela. Widening her eyes, Hela disintegrated all of them using her magic, and finally realised who this woman was. She had heard rumours from the spirits, rumours so impossible she did not believe it. But here she was, standing before her, the living proof of those whispers.

"My name is Ase Birgersdottir," she announced. "Daughter of Rhea. And I am here to protect Asgard, from you."

"The _half-breed!"_ Hela exclaimed before pouncing at Ase. Ase called her staff and blocked Hela's sword. Hela procured another dagger, but Ase dropped herself to the ground and kicked Hela's side, launching her to one of the pillars.

"Everybody retreat! Evacuate the civilians!" Ase ordered, her voice reminiscent of Rhea herself. Hela rose, anger gurgling inside her.

"I should have known," Hela chuckled. "That bloody sorcerer, marrying a Jotun!"

Without hesitation, Hela fired many swords at Ase, but Ase easily deflected them back to their master. Hela summoned swords from the ground, almost puncturing her feet. Ase daintily stepped on their edges with force propelling her feet before she swung her staff and blasted a powerful force at Hela.

"She did marry a Jotun," Ase retorted as she returned to the ground. "And I should be glad that she did."

Hela noticed a shift in the air. Suddenly craters of ice burst from the ground, creeping towards her like mad animals. Hela destroyed them easily, but the transformed air did not recede. Around her frost sprouted from the stones, before creeping as fast as the lightning towards Hela. Crystals of ice were thrust from the ground and locked Hela in place. Hela returned her attention to her opponent, whose eyes were glowing red as the ice dispersed from her hands.

"You think you can freeze me to death?" Hela said with a scoff. Resorting to pure magic would be a humiliation for her, whose weapons had been nothing but her summoned blades. Yet, this opponent was worthy enough for her to exude her true powers to. Channelling energy to her hands, flames sparked from her skin and engulfed the crystals of ice in an eerie blue blaze. As she was freed from the icy cage, Hela leapt at Ase and attempted to assault her in close distance, knowing she had a far greater advantage if she did so.

Ase drew her staff and engaged in a close combat with Hela. Each sword was blocked by her staff, which seemed to ring upon each blast. Hela's frustration grew with each passing second, but Ase's movements retained their fluidity. Why was this woman so skilful and persistent? Rhea had not been this powerful in close combat. Where had she learnt those manoeuvres? These questions ran through Hela's mind.

Until she saw her heaving heavily.

Hela smirked victoriously. "It seems that you are no true Asgardian after all," Hela mocked, increasing the intensity of her attacks as she summoned numerous blades from the floor. Ase barely dodged them and staggered back, giving Hela the opportunity to knock her staff out of her hands. Hela thrust a blade straight to Ase's heart. Ase lifted her arms and seemingly dampened the attack with her force. Hela threw more swords at her, and Ase struggled to defend herself.

 _Just a bit more._

An earthquake shook the surface of the earth. Ase tumbled as swords magically erupted from the floor. Gritting her teeth, she expelled herself using force, but not fast enough to evade all the protruding thorns. One caught her arm, piercing right through her muscles and leaving her dangling like a puppet. Her stifled screams were music to Hela.

"You foolish half-breed," Hela declared, strolling towards her. "You think you're strong enough to defeat me, but not even a true Asgardian can do so. Who do you think you are to defeat the Goddess of the Dead?"

Then a smirk formed on her face. Hela shuddered.

"I didn't say I need to defeat you."

Hela felt as if fire had been ignited under her feet. But when she looked down, she saw convoluted magic circles brimming to life. She did not recognise the markings, nor was it possible for a magic circle to be carved on this place—she had not sensed it! _Then is it a spell? But Asgardian spells do not involve magic circles!_

It occurred to her where this woman was originating from, and what her purpose was.

"I learnt it from a new friend," Ase whispered before suddenly the ground fell into pieces. Hela was dragged with the rubble descending to the abyss below. The fall would certainly not kill her, but it would prove a challenge to rise again back to the surface.

 _She only wants to buy the others time._

The shouts coming from her mouth were inaudible in the thunderous sound of fallen debris. She swallowed the face of the woman who had just outwitted her. A perfect reflection of Rhea, the sorceress who had looked upon her with no sense of respect—who thought that the Goddess of Death would be her equal. The sorceress who had subverted all the society's expectations.

The only sorceress she wished to destroy at all cost.

"I'LL KILL YOU, ASE BIRGERSDOTTIR!" Hela vowed. "I'LL KILL YOU WITH WHATEVER IT TAKES!"

Then it was darkness once more.

oOo

Ase unleashed her painful scream as she dislodged her pierced arm from the edge of Hela's blade. Blood gushed out almost instantly, but she quickly stopped the bleeding using a healing spell. Watching Hela fall into the darkness, Ase knelt on the ground and created a barrier of ice over the gaping hole, hopefully strong enough to hold Hela off. She had purposefully lowered her guard then, diverting Hela's attention away from her machinations.

If she were to fight using her full power, there was no knowing the damage it would cause to Asgard.

She certainly must thank the Ancient One once she returned back to Earth. The trap she had set up was not an instantaneous spell—it was built from casting it in several steps during the battle, each so imperceptible that it had slipped past Hela's notice.

"Ase!" Heimdall shouted. He stumbled before her when he saw her injury. "You're wounded!"

"I'm fine," Ase assured him hopelessly, the pain still seeping through her bones. Heimdall picked up her staff for her and escorted her out of the battlefield, where the civilians of Asgard were rampant in chaos. Soldiers tried, and failed, to usher the citizens to safety in a calm manner, they themselves questioning the situation.

Hela was beyond powerful. Even with her utmost effort, Ase could not overpower her in any way, and only ended up draining her stamina in the process. She must join forces with Thor and Loki, perhaps all the remaining sorcerers if they wanted to succeed. But for now, the citizens were of top priority, especially since Hela had no intention of leaving anyone opposing her alive.

"Can we evacuate the citizens through Bifrost?" Ase asked.

"In this chaos? There is not enough time," Heimdall answered, reviewing the situation sceptically. "And certainly we can't transport so many people at once. We need ships."

Hogun joined them, his face torn in grief. Perhaps he had known his brothers' fate. "All the ships are destroyed by Hela during the confrontation," Hogun added. "We need to evacuate the citizens somewhere else."

"There is an old stronghold in the mountains," Heimdall told them. "I know of a secret passage. But we need time to get all of them through."

Ase nodded. "Tell the soldiers to stand guard around palace. We need to hold off Hela as long as possible. And instruct the surviving sorcerers to create a seal around the palace. The strongest one ever created. Go."

Hogun nodded and rushed back into the crowd. Ase noticed Sif blending in with the citizens, her face distraught, demanding where Thor was. She could not provide an answer. Heimdall informed her that Loki and Thor were thrown off-course during their journey back to Asgard in the Bifrost Bridge. They could end up anywhere, he explained, even in places not meant for living beings.

Heimdall brought them to the outskirts of the city, where a small tunnel laid agape. "It's a labyrinth from here on," Heimdall explained, leading the groups of citizens deeper into the mountains. "It will take a while for Hela's minions to reach us."

"And by minions, she can raise the dead," Ase added grimly. "How convenient."

"She won't find us by magic. Nothing magical protects the fortress, so she won't be able to detect us so easily."

The thought was not comforting at all. They traversed through the dark cave in silence, before Heimdall finally twitched beside her. "I found Thor in Sakaar."

"What?"

"He's in the Grandmaster's hold."

Ase literally face-palmed herself. "What are the odds indeed," she sighed. "We can't defeat Hela without the aid of Thor and Loki, and conveniently they are both in Sakaar."

"You need to fetch them here," Heimdall suggested. Ase looked at him incredulously. "I know that you are perhaps the best chance for us against Hela if she was to find us, you're also the best chance to find Thor and Loki. And you are the only one who can travel using Dark Magic."

Virtually, she wanted to vomit herself out as he mentioned Dark Magic. Her first and last experience travelling using Bifrost was not a pleasant one after all. But considering she had Heimdall by her side now, who could utilise Dark Magic for her, the chances of haemorrhaging would be quite low this time. Right now, however, she was more concerned of visiting Sakaar once more. She had seen a glimpse of the life in that planet—the tournaments, the scavengers, the illegal labour trade—she _hated_ every part of it. That was her only concern now.

The fortress loomed over them. An ancient stronghold, carved upon the rocky isolated mountains. "Let's do it, shall we?" Ase said.

Heimdall nodded firmly. He took Ase's hands and closed his eyes. The same feeling flowed through her as they reached for the Bifrost. It was like the river gushing into her veins, but this time the currents were a little bit slower. Perhaps it was because of the Bifrost sword Heimdall was wielding, she didn't know. Painful memories flooded her vision as well. She ignored them.

"Allfathers. Let the Dark Magic flow through her," Heimdall chanted. In an instant, Ase's body warped into multitudes of colours, vanishing from Heimdall's vision, carrying with her the hope of Asgard's survival.

oOo

The sky was as bleak as she remembered it. The air smelled of foul evil, mainly because of the sumptuous garbage before her. Ase crinkled her face and covered her nostrils. The collapsing neutron star swirled at the centre of Sakaar, a depiction of the storm awaiting her ahead. She looked down at her arm. She opened and closed her palms, flinching slightly when the pain remerged. "It will do now," Ase assured herself.

Several hours ago, she had communicated with Loki. Considering the discrepancies in time in Sakaar, which she had learnt during her 'exciting' visit, she guessed that at least 5 days had passed in the region. Loki urged her to reach for her communicator, which was, much to her dismay, damaged during her confrontation with Hela. Grumbling, Ase cast the broken device to join the rest of its brothers in the garbage dump before sliding down the one she was standing on.

She was left with no clues to work on, it seemed.

And considering Sakaar's violent environment, many things could have happened in those 5 days. Loki was too cunning to declare his existence so openly to Sakaarians. It would be impossible for her to find him over the course of next few days, considering that each hour in Asgard would give Hela an ample time to annihilate the rest of the people.

"Thor it is then," Ase decided, pacing towards Sakaar's central city. There were scavengers lurking behind the piles of garbage, but a single glare from Ase sent them scampering away. Human trafficking was the heart and soul of Sakaar, so even though she was as skilful as she was, she needed to stay alert in case one or two traffickers had an eye on her and agreed to work together.

Since Thor had an inclination to attract attention, and getting himself into trouble, Ase figured that the Grandmaster's lair would be the best place to start. Loki too should have gone up the social ladders by now, though she would rather not contemplate on his methods in accomplishing that.

The strangers continued to spy on her. Ase stopped on her heels and turned around, realising the only clue she had at that moment. "Hello there," Ase greeted as she twirled her staff. "Can I ask you something?"

All of them emerged from the shadows at once, bearing guns and weapons, several of them nets to capture her. Ase frowned and tapped her staff hard on the ground, creating a resounding boom which caused her hunters to stagger back. "Cooperate with me, or else you'll end up in the garbage dump." The scavengers seemed to agree with her instantly. "Has anyone arrived here, in the dump, recently?"

"You got that right," their leader answered, his voice trembling. "A man fell from the sky. He's caught by one of the Grandmaster's henchmen, the brute lady who always scampers around these parts. And drinking."

"What is the Grandmaster going to do to him?" Ase demanded.

"The Contest of Champions," one of them said. "Where brutes fight, and get killed."

"Thank god then," Ase sighed in relief, earning looks of confusion from them. Thor was many things, but getting killed in battle was not one of them.

"The next one is held tomorrow," the leader added. "In the stadium. You'll need a ticket to get there."

Ase scoffed, withdrawing her staff. "I don't need a ticket to get into anything."

* * *

 **A/N: Happy New Year! I hope all of you guys have a wonderful 2020 ahead, with the best blessings and life pleasantries bestowed upon you dear beloved readers! As promised, a new chapter posted just after the New Years, a chapter I particularly enjoyed writing. Hopefully this year I find enough motivation to consistently post and maintain the drive to actually write haha! I apologise if 2019 has been a stagnant year for me! Again, thank you for being with me this far, particularly those who have tagged along for roughly three years since I first started writing on this site. Thank you all, and I love you always.**


	36. 0404: Ooops

If only there was a spell to telepathically talk with someone. Loki sighed in frustration as he tried to call Ase to no avail. The worst outcomes of her confrontation with Hela popped up in his mind, which he tried to ignore as he served the vexing, overly-curious people around him. They laughed at his jokes, which he unconsciously crafted as he thought of Ase's fate. She was indeed capable, but what if Hela was too powerful for her? Would she be killed or taken prisoner instead?

Loki heard someone's shouts from the other end of the room. His voice was familiar, but in the small bubble of his audience, whose laughter stung his ears, he could not discern where he had heard the voice before. The Grandmaster's music filled the air, swirling into his mind like a toxic smoke. The Grandmaster was certainly the worst musician he had ever encountered.

"There was a wormhole in space and time beneath me," Loki continued calmly. "At that moment, I let go." Another series of laughter boomed. Loki chuckled with them, masking his gurgling anxiety for Ase.

"Loki! Loki!"

Loki turned around and saw the last man he wanted to meet. Thor called upon him excitedly, wriggling in his restraining chair, smiling jubilantly like a lost child. Loki chuckled nervously and stood up from his seat. When Thor wanted to call his name again, he quickly shushed him to silence.

"What?"

"You're alive?"

"Yes, of course I'm alive," Thor answered loudly.

"What are you doing here?" Loki asked again, eyeing the shackles around Thor's hands.

"What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm stuck in this stupid chair. Where's your chair?"

"I didn't get a chair," Loki replied.

"Get me out of this one! Get me out!" Thor demanded brusquely.

"I can't," Loki explained with a low voice. "I've made friends with this man. The Grandmaster. I've gained his favour. The Bifrost brought me out here weeks ago."

Thor widened his eyes at this new development. It seemed that outside Sakaar, merely a few moments had passed. Perhaps, merely a few hours for Ase. "Have you met Ase?" Loki inquired sharply.

"I didn't even reach Asgard! Now get me out of this—"

"What are they whispering about?"

Loki stepped back and clicked his tongue. Thor furrowed his brows, finally understanding that Loki truly wanted to avoid dealing with the clinically-insane man. The Grandmaster explained the mechanisms of time in Sakaar, which merely brought confusion to Thor.

"In any case! You know of this… You call yourself Lord of Thunder?" the Grandmaster asked with his unrelenting smirk. Loki shivered, for he knew that behind this cheerful façade lay a sadistic man who would not allow any betrayals or deception in his realm. He had heard rumours and words from Ase, which he had discovered over the past few weeks to be true.

But Loki lied anyway. "I've never met this man in my life."

Thos scowled. "He's my brother!"

"Adopted," Loki corrected gleefully.

The Grandmaster's smile grew wider. "Is he any kind of a fighter."

Loki quickly nodded his head. "Oh, yes. The best in the Nine Realms. He defeated Malekith by himself, I heard. Quite the warrior."

Thor wriggled again in his seat. "You free me from this chair and I'll gladly show you."

The Grandmaster lifted his hand, which somehow stopped Thor from speaking too much. "Listen, I got a deal for you. If you wanna get back to Ass-place… Assberg… Any contender who defeats my champion, their freedom they shall win."

Loki's blood froze. He looked at Thor pleadingly to no avail. Thor, swallowed in his rage and desperation, failed to notice Loki's subtle signs again. "Fine. Then point me in the direction of whoever's ass I have to kick!" Thor challenged. The grandmaster yelped in exhilaration and grabbed his remote controller.

"That's what I call a contender! Direction would be this way, Lord," the Grandmaster serenaded. Automatically Thor's chair moved on its own forward, sliding past Loki and the Grandmaster smoothly. Loki watched as his brother was taken away by the Grandmaster's henchmen, his plan utterly foiled with Thor being added to the equation.

"So, space magician," the Grandmaster spoke, diverting Loki's attention from Thor. "You were telling me about this story the other day—"

The door suddenly opened and several scavengers announced their arrival. Loki remembered them as the ones who had spied him when he had just arrived in Sakaar. The garbage dump dwellers.

"What do you want?" the Grandmaster demanded, his authority deadly even when he was revelling in good mood. These scavengers were not in good terms with him, especially since he only gave them the trash mountains of the planet to live in.

"We found another fighter!" their leader declared. "Another trespasser like the guy who just disappeared. Stronger than he is, we bet!"

The Grandmaster's curiosity was piqued once more. Somehow, Loki had a bad feeling about this. "Then where is this so-called fighter?" he asked.

"She escaped. Disappeared in the thin air. But we're sure she's coming for the upcoming contest," the scavenger explained. Suddenly Loki's muscles tensed and palpitations formed at the tip of his hands. What was this new luck of his, being given two possible contenders at once? Something was definitely wrong, he could feel it in his bones.

"We'll find her then!" the Grandmaster said loudly, his words an absolute order to the guards nearby. "Description!"

The leader stepped forward and procured a circular device from his pocket. From it, a hologram was projected, picturing a lean woman with long, braided hair, and a staff in hand. Loki swallowed a gasp. The Grandmaster clapped his hands and ordered the guards to monitor any visitors with the same physical description as shown, reminding Loki that the technologies in Sakaar were enough to distinguish anyone even if they have a disguise on. Even magical ones. And the woman, he knew, would never resort to illusion.

The Grandmaster left him, too divulged in his new excitements. Loki looked out of the window and bit his lip, cursing everything which had led to this. He needed a new plan, a plan with so many advantageous outcomes it would be impossible to fail. Because the woman shown in the hologram had changed his game, just as she had changed his games in the past.

The woman was Ase.

oOo

Torn in the sea of crowds forcing themselves into the central city of Sakaar, Ase tried her best to maintain her calm and frustrations to herself. Even without using magic tricks, she could easily slip into the stadium like a cat. Faces flashed on the gigantic screen above the stadium, displaying the names of contestants of the day. All of them appeared fierce but pathetic, their faces reminding her of the thugs in the slums. She wondered who the Grandmaster's contender was.

"He can break your bones without flinching!" one of the spectators said as they streamed in.

"As big as a giant!" the other added.

"Did you hear how he roared? No lion or wolf can beat this lad!"

"I hope we can see the bloody bloodbath like in the previous round!"

 _Now why is this description so familiar?_

Before she lost sight of the screen, her eyes caught the face of the Grandmaster's champion. Only a sliver of it, but enough to trigger suspicions in her, and a gruesome worry.

The noises inside the stadium were deafening. Thousands of spectators squeezed themselves on tribune, many of them bringing banners with a green face imprinted on it. She could not make out the face due to the taller figures obscuring her line of sight. The crowd grew louder when the Grandmaster's figure was projected in the middle of the stadium.

"Look at all of you! What a show! What a night! Who's having fun?" his voice boomed.

 _Not me,_ Ase remarked to herself. "Please. I'm your host. Big round of applause for all our undercard competitors who today died so gruesomely. What a show! What a night! This is what you've come for and so have I!"

The stadium roared. Ase closed off her ears and searched for the Grandmaster's location. She spotted a small glass deck across the stadium, filled with people dressed luxuriously. She sincerely hoped Loki had reached the Grandmaster's close circle of friends and squinted her eyes to search for him. He was the only one who could help her now.

"And now, without further ado, it's main event time!" Fireworks burst above her and one of the gates to the fighting ground opened. Ase pushed herself through the crowd to get a better look. "Making his first appearance, though he looks quite promising, got a couple of tricks up his sleeve. I'll say no more, see what you think. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… Lord of Thunder!"

Ase cackled upon hearing his mispronounced name, breaking her focus on what was important. Thor walked into the stadium stern-faced, his luscious locks completely shaved off, leaving only messy patches of hair. A war paint marked his face like a scar, and his mighty hammer had been replaced by a puny bat. The audience instantly booed at him.

Ase, meanwhile, was infinitely grateful that he was alive.

The other door opened. The cheers roared. Ase leaned forward along the aisle, peering into the darkness past the door. Green eyes stared back, then a huge figure roughly three metres tall burst out of the darkness and declared its presence on the field. Ase felt her jaw drop when she recognised the Grandmaster's champion.

"HULK!" the crowd shouted.

"Bloody hell," Ase whispered.

"YES!" Thor screamed. The crowd died down. Ase's mouth fell farther. She could not hear Thor's conversation with Hulk from thereon, but he appeared to be joyous of this new turn of events. On the other hand, it changed the course of her actions again. She had heard that Bruce had been missing since Ultron's revolution, but she had not expected him to wind up in this isolated world.

Now, it seemed, that she needed to get a total of three people out of Sakaar.

At this rate, she would need to barge into the Grandmaster's house herself to retrieve all of them.

Ase retreated from the aisled and submerged herself in the crowd. _There must be a way to get inside,_ Ase thought. She choked as she got out of the tribune, breathing heavily from after pushing through a sea of sweat and fumes. Silently she skittered down the stairs, hoping to reach the bottom floor before Thor's apparent brutal fight with Hulk ended.

She bumped into someone. Leaning against the wall, she blinked and looked at the person before her. The same group of scavengers stared back, guns in their hands. "Oh shit."

Ase kicked the frontmost man hard on his abdomen, sending him tumbling down the stairs. Her ears were buzzing now from the noise of the crowd and men's shouts. She leapt back to the tribune, where no escape route was possible for her. She closed her eyes and tried to blink, but one of the men lunged at her and dragged her down the floor. Grunting, she kicked the man as hard as she could, but he wouldn't budge. Thus, she resorted to her force kick, which was too extreme that she found her body hovering in the air. Ase yelped and the crowd gasped.

Below, Thor was being crushed by Hulk to his very bones. Thor saw her flying over and he opened his mouth. "I'll take care of myself!" she screeched, expounding herself in the air as much as she could. She landed on several bodies in the other viewing deck. Ase scrambling back to her feet and reached for the stairs. But the same men were waiting for her, as if she was purposefully being hunted.

 _I should have left those men paralysed before I leave!_

Ase lifted her arms and a barrier of ice rose from the floor. She glanced around and saw that she had been surrounded from both sides. She could not escape using the normal exit route.

And so, without further thought, she leapt high into the air. Thor was almost defeated by the Hulk. Ase winced when blasts of bullets scratched her skin.

"Ase!" she seemingly heard _him_ said. She peered through the glass protecting the Grandmaster. Loki looked back with pleading eyes.

Ase tumbled down the ground hard from her failed manoeuvre mid-air. "Get up, Thor! Asgard is in danger!" she screamed, pulling herself to her feet before scrambling madly towards the Hulk. She was neither running for her sake nor for Thor's safety. Heck, she couldn't even understand her actions. Everything was going down the hole right now. There was no reason for anything, only the instinct for survival. Behind her, dozens of men armed with weapons capable of paralysing her were closing in.

"SHIT THOR! GET UP!"

And he did, in the most unexpected way. A thunderous lightning struck the middle of the stadium, blinding the spectators and igniting an ephemeral shockwave across the field. Ase's body was sent tumbling backwards, hitting her pursuers as well.

The entire stadium reverted back to silence. They could not believe what they were seeing. Lightning spewed out from Thor's body as if his blood was made by it. Brimming with power, Thor punched Hulk right on the chest with a lightning-infused fist and sent him across the stadium.

Ase felt hands on her arms and looked over her shoulder. The scavengers were grabbing at her and intending to neutralise her. With a strong heave she curved forward, bringing the men with her, and crashed them to the earth. She ran, hearing everyone cheering for Thor now. She smirked, and eyed the Grandmaster, who was no longer focussed on the fight at hand.

Somehow, she understood his intentions in hunting her.

A loud groan came from the centre of the stadium. Ase flinched. Thor was having a series of seizures for no apparent reason. The Hulk was regaining the upper hand. Ase stopped on her tracks and changed directions. The Hulk jumped high into the air, ready to destroy Thor once and for all. She panted, pushing her muscles to their best, sensing all eyes on her.

 _I am so crazy. But that's what I get for befriending crazy people._

Yelling a battle cry, she slid towards Thor and halted just next to him. A loud boom resounded across the air, followed by a billowing smoke. The dust cleared off after a long moment, revealing shadowy figures at its centre. Ase grinned painfully as she held off Hulk's hand. He seemed to recognise her for a moment, but then decided to push her further down.

"Do that further," Ase spelled out. "And you're going to be _worse_ than dead meat."

The Hulk, or Bruce's part of the Hulk, seemed to understand the message she brought across. It bought her enough time for the Grandmaster to step into the matters himself.

"Whoa, whoa. Timeout. Who are you, little lady?" the Grandmaster asked. Ase, without releasing her grasp on the Hulk's hand, smirked slightly.

"I am Inertia, your new contender," Ase explained. "I heard your men are finding another champion. Why the brute force? I'll happily help you make your fights more exciting."

The Grandmaster raised his brows and questioned her intentions for a moment. She was not good at lying, she admitted to herself, but she had learnt from the God of Mischief himself and she would be damned if this stupid man could see through her trickery. After a long, eye-narrowing moment, the Grandmaster finally nodded and grinned as well.

"Farewell then!" he declared. He ordered Hulk to pull his hands away, and after showing signs of reluctance, the Grandmaster glared at him, which caused him to retract his hands away. Ase staggered back to her feet and patted the edges of her coat calmly.

"I do have a question though," Ase added hesitantly. "I may have some demands before being your contender."

"Of course. Money, fame? Anything! We support a right working environment here," the Grandmaster replied. Ase rolled her eyes, knowing that if she would fall into the Grandmaster's hands, it would be as good as being taken into slavery. She glanced at Thor and hesitated.

"Well…"

oOo

A sudden turn of events indeed.

"You truly believe that the Grandmaster is going to give me a ship to return to Asgard?"

"No, I don't, but at least I am inside and it's easier to steal one."

Ase tapped Thor's fully-healed shoulder and, seeing that he did not wince slightly, she smiled in satisfaction and cleaned her bloody hand with a cloth. "How did you get here again?" Thor asked.

"Right," Ase sighed, rubbing her temples. Something weird was inside those bullets and it was tingling her nerves now. "Hela is in Asgard. She is trying to take it _and_ the other realms over. Heimdall have evacuated the citizens to a nearby ancient stronghold which is hidden enough to protect the citizens. The Warriors Three are dead except Hogun, who is hopefully still holding back Hela's henchmen until we can return there and defeat her."

Thor's face paled once he heard of the fate of his friends. "Sif is still alive as well," Ase assured him. She knew the pain of losing her comrades. She was just remorseful for being late—perhaps she could save them if she had arrived earlier.

The Hulks waddled in the jacuzzi at the edge of the room. "Hey big guy," Ase greeted him, properly this time. "Natasha was looking for you, you know."

"Guy no longer here. Hulk always Hulk," Hulk answered. Ase raised half a brow, resting her hands on her hips.

"I guess Banner is having a down time then," Ase guessed in disdain. She approached a cupboard in the room and took one of the jugs on it. Taking a sip, Ase watched as Thor asked Hulk the whereabouts of the quinjet, which he presumed had transported Hulk to Sakaar. Ase spat right on the spot, tasting alcohol at the tip of her tongue. As if perceiving her gesture as a signal, Hulk stepped out of his jacuzzi. Ase covered her eyes just in time to avoid seeing a disastrous nightmare, but Thor did not share her fortune.

"It's in my brain now," Thor protested.

"We can still steal the Grandmaster's jet, you know," Ase remarked, still covering her eyes.

Ase braved herself to open her eyes and, much to her relief, Hulk had covered himself with a piece of towel. Thor doubted their chances in successfully stealing the quinjet, particularly because all of the Grandmaster's men had the paralyser currently nesting on his neck. Hulk refused blatantly, insisting that he stay in Sakaar. Ase for once wanted to see up close the effects of the paralyser. She let Thor walk towards the hallway, only to be tasered once he reached an invisible barrier. The Hulk laughed satisfyingly.

"Come, let me see that for you," Ase chuckled.

"You really sound like Loki now. How long have you known that he was disguising as Odin?" Thor said as Ase fiddled with his paralyser. His skin prickled when Ase touched the device.

"Long enough for me to pick his manner of speech," Ase answered gleefully. She frowned then. "I don't think I can take this off you without blowing your skin off."

"Then don't," Thor pleaded. "Can't you get us out of here? I don't think the Grandmaster puts anything like these on you, correct?"

Ase huffed in exasperation and tapped Thor's paralyser once more, jolting him slightly. "Look, with that on, I cannot bring you out. Probably the Grandmaster has an entire barrier built around this building just to restrain prisoners like you. And I won't be getting out alone. Do you know anyone who has control over this shit?"

Thor was about to answer, but then he peered past her shoulder and narrowed his eyes. Ase turned around and saw a dark-skinned, built woman strolling past the guards. "New love interest?" she guessed.

"Angry girl," Hulk greeted with a sense of familiarity. The woman chuckled when she saw Hulk and sprinted towards him. Playfully, she took his leg and kicked him on the stomach, sending him rolling down the stairs. Ase widened her eyes at how comfortable they were with each other. Never had she seen Hulk this joyful before.

The woman finally acknowledged Ase's and Thor's presence. Ase sensed a disturbing awkwardness between the Asgardian and this woman. "Was she the one who catch you?"

"She was," the woman answered. "Who are you again? Oh, the girl who barged into the tournament and boasted herself as a contender? What, you a sorceress or something?"

Ase pursed her lips and studied the woman from the tips of her brown hair to the edges of her sword. She appeared like an Aesir, but her manners and attire spoke of an entirely different world. "I am indeed a sorceress. I am surprised you know that just by a mere glance."

A glimpse of shiver across the woman's skin. This woman was no mere henchman of the Grandmaster.

"We need to talk," Thor said to her. Rolling her eyes, she ignored his wishes and walked back to the doorway. Without hesitation, Thor returned to Hulk and smiled. "I need her to stay."

Immediately Hulk threw a table towards the doorway, blocking the woman's path and snatching her attention. She whirled around with a flattered face. "She knows you're a sorceress because she's from Asgard," Thor explained. "She was a former Valkyrie."

Ase hummed in reply. From Rhea's books she derived the term 'Valkyrie', but Rhea never explained it in detail other than them being slaughtered by Hela during her attempted prison outbreak. Thor tried, to no avail, to persuade Valkyrie to join their cause. She kept her mouth sealed regarding the matter. Her mind wandered to where Loki was, and hoped he could find his way here to help them.

"I'm not getting dragged into another one of Odin's family squabbles," the Valkyrie reasoned.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Thor asked, confused. The Valkyrie clicked her tongue.

"Her power comes from Asgard, same as yours," she replied. "When it grew beyond Odin's control she massacred everyone in the palace and tried to seize the throne. When she tried to escape her banishment he sent the Valkyrie in to fight her back."

"Never wanting to let his hands dirty," Ase added quietly.

"There you go," the Valkyrie agreed. "And I only survived because…." She took her words back and swallowed painfully. "Look, I already faced her once back when I believed in the throne, and it cost me everything."

"There is no more throne, is it?" Ase argued firmly. "Odin's dead, Valkyrie. The throne is empty. You are not bound to the throne anymore. But did you really swear an oath to protect the throne? I believe you didn't." Ase stepped closer to Valkyrie. She could see it in her eyes—this was a woman who had lost all her loved ones, engulfed in the eternal prison of uncertainty and bitterness. But she still see a wavering flame inside of her. The Valkyrie had not yet died.

"You swear your life for Asgard, for its people. Hela is threatening the people, not the throne," Ase said. "If it were the throne, I wouldn't be coming either."

The Valkyrie eyed her curiously for a moment. From what she could discern, this woman was an Aesir and clearly an ally of Asgard, but her words were not made for people who believed fully in the kingdom.

"I am sorry but I am not going back to that wretched kingdom," she declared ultimately. Ase shrugged her shoulders in disappointment, but not before she flicked her fingers in the air. The Valkyrie felt her pockets fumbling and looked down. The paralyser's remote whizzed past her arms and into Ase's palm. _Sorceress,_ she cursed.

"There you go," Ase said, freeing Thor from his miserable brooch. "You know, I wonder why the God of Thunder is so vulnerable to short term electricity."

Thor snorted. "You know what, go ahead, Valkyrie. "Stay here and enslave people for that lunatic. Keep drinking, keep hiding. But me, I choose to run towards my problems and not away from them." Thor caught a metal ball thrown by the Hulk and then smashed it to the window. At least, that was what he had hoped, for the ball savagely bounced back to his head, knocking him dead to the floor. Ase shook his head in disappointment before picking up the ball and throwing it full force this time. The glass window overlooking the city disintegrated into pieces.

"Please," Ase gestured to Thor.

"Right," Thor said. "Are you coming?"

Ase shook her head. "You try the quinjet, but I'm afraid it won't help us get out of here. I'll find Loki and steal some ship."

"Loki won't follow you and you know that," Thor argued.

"No, it's you who don't know that," Ase answered. Thor was conquered by confusion, but spoke no further and leapt off the building. The Hulk grunted in annoyance upon seeing Thor escaping, and for no reason she could comprehend, chased after the God of Thunder. Ase watched them sprint past the bustling city roads, crashing people here and there, before completely disappearing.

"Right," Ase sighed, returning her gaze to the Valkyrie. "I didn't quite know your name, by the way."

After a moment of hesitation, the woman opened her lips, "Brunnhilde. Now go before I change my mind and report this to the Grandmaster."

"Right. Thank you," Ase said lastly before she began prancing out of the room.

"He's in the first chamber, fifty-fifth floor," suddenly Brunnhilde added. Ase peeked over her shoulder and nodded with a small smile. It appears Brunnhilde still upheld her loyalty to Asgard after all.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello everyone! I'm still writing, which is surprising, and my holiday approaches its end (life is hard, eh?) I've been feeling better recently, so less to worry about, but I am still sceptical of what the future holds. That aside, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for reading, favouriting, and reviewing. See you on next chapter!**


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